Are You Ready To Meet Customers In The Metaverse?
Metaverse Hype to Transition into New Business Models that Extend Digital Business Metaverse seems to be the talk of the decade, with companies jumping at opportunities to be a part of the digital world. From metaverse offerings to buying digital land, not a day goes by without a new business venturing into it. According to […]
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Metaverse Hype to Transition into New Business Models that Extend Digital Business
Metaverse seems to be the talk of the decade, with companies jumping at opportunities to be a part of the digital world. From metaverse offerings to buying digital land, not a day goes by without a new business venturing into it.
According to a recent report by Gartner, 25 per cent of consumers will spend at least one hour every day in the metaverse for work, shopping, education, social and/or entertainment by 2026.
The metaverse promises to be many things as an army of technology companies come together to build the ecosystem that is pegged to change life as we know it in the near future. In simple terms, the metaverse is a virtual world that will harness the power of a collection of technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and video. It will allow users to interact in a shared virtual 3D world or worlds that are interactive, immersive and collaborative.
“Vendors are already building ways for users to replicate their lives in digital worlds,” said Marty Resnick, research vice president at Gartner. “From attending virtual classrooms to buying digital land and constructing virtual homes, these activities are currently being conducted in separate environments. Eventually, they will take place in a single environment – the metaverse – with multiple destinations across technologies and experiences.”
Gartner defines a metaverse as a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. It is persistent, providing enhanced immersive experiences, as well as device-independent and accessible through any type of device, from tablets to head-mounted displays.
As there are no single vendors who own the metaverse, Gartner predicts that it will have a virtual economy operated through digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Zuckerberg has acknowledged that “no one company” will build the metaverse by itself. NVIDIA, for example, plays a significant role because the company’s chips power the computing devices that will run the metaverse. Democratisation of the metaverse is a key concern and experts are highlighting the need as well. The metaverse will not be tied to anyone app or place — digital or real, explains Rev Lebaredian, Vice President of Simulation Technology at NVIDIA.
Think of it as a platform for connecting 3D worlds into a shared virtual universe. Lebaredian stresses the term persistence.
Gartner believes the metaverse will impact every business that consumers interact with every day. It will also impact how work gets done. Enterprises will provide better engagement, collaboration and connection to their employees through immersive workspaces in virtual offices. Businesses will not need to create their own infrastructure to do so because the metaverse will provide the framework. In addition, virtual events that have gained popularity over the last 18 months will offer more collaborative and immersive networking opportunities and workshops.
“Enterprises will have the ability to expand and enhance their business models in unprecedented ways by moving from a digital business to a metaverse business,” said Resnick. “By 2026, 30 per cent of the organisations in the world will have products and services ready for metaverse.”
The adoption of metaverse technologies is nascent and fragmented, and Gartner cautions organisations about investing heavily in a specific metaverse. “It is still too early to know which investments will be viable in the long term, but product managers should take the time to learn, explore and prepare for a metaverse in order to position themselves competitively,” said Resnick.
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