The pandemic has transformed the way we work—and will even continue to do so. So, what exactly is the future of work? The new and mesmerizing world of the metaverse may just have the answer.
Technology, even in the midst of the pandemic, certainly doesn’t stop for anything. In fact, more groundbreaking technology seem to be planned or launched in every industry from healthcare to business. And the Metaverse is one of the future technology buzzwords that the society is looking forward to.
On Facebook’s annual meeting last October, CEO Mark Zuckerberg first hinted on creating the Metaverse. The Metaverse is a concept that mixes augmented and virtual reality worlds, as well as merging other applications, software, and hardware. It is a digital world where people can come together and communicate with each other. So, in the metaverse world, people may be on different corners of the planet or in different digital platforms, but will still be able to sit and talk next to another person in a shared virtual space.
The Metaverse spell a lot of opportunities for enterprises who would like to venture on it the future, and here are some of them.
The benefits of the metaverse
- It can reduce travel impact and improve today’s virtual office space.
Transportation, particularly air travel, results to 2-3% of global CO2 emissions. Greenhouse gasses are the main culprits behind climate change, and reducing CO2 emissions can help lessen environmental degradation.
In the metaverse, corporations can now make realistic office environments which will then lessen the need to travel. These virtual spaces will also foster better working conditions for employees, since the metaverse’s realistic virtual features will help eliminate some of the drawbacks of working from home such as decreased staff morale and feelings of isolation.
- It can enable seamless financial transactions.
In the pandemic, contactless transactions were the norm. These innovations helped limit the spread of the virus and save lives. But aside from that, society realized that we can make seamless and safe dealings online. And that we can actually incorporate it on our daily lives, with or without the pandemic.
With that said, financial operations may even upgrade even more. The society would have to use entirely different currencies like cryptocurrency or more amazing features in their existing digital wallet. And for businesses, this could mean better and more advanced ways to handle financial processes.
- It can improve certain production processes.
Using the metaverse, manufacturers can foster rapid product designing through real-time collaborative development. The metaverse is a great place to design a product, where stakeholders can drag and drop digital assets to build simulations or product prototypes. The management that are also present in the metaverse environment can give immediate feedback for the product.
In addition to making the designing process faster, the metaverse can also help reduce quality control issues such as defective products. The metaverse environment operates with more detailed and physics-based assets such as advanced CAD-like software. For this advantage, companies can reduce the margin of error for production.
- It can offer promising brand engagement opportunities.
Most businesses are now operating in an omnichannel market. This could mean different customer experiences in different platforms for only one customer. Without varied options for brand awareness or promotions, the customer might demand for more personalized and engaging content from a company.
Fortunately, the varied digital assets and processes in the metaverse can solve this issue. Users can now easily try products like clothes, makeup, or accessories through the metaverse, or explore gadgets and real estate properties. Plus, corporations can make more interactive engagement opportunities like games, concerts, or seminars through their virtual spaces.
Entering the metaverse
Technically, the metaverse still doesn’t exist. But brands are serving as the building blocks for one unified metaverse that includes numerous hyper realistic virtual environments. Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook and consumer brands like Balenciaga, Ferrari, Nike and more are already exploring their brand products and services through virtual wearables and models in digital environments.
Now, how can a business build their own virtual brand in the virtual world?
Here are some of the important things that corporations need to venture in the metaverse landscape.
- Mixed hardware and software. The metaverse market is the merging of different virtual worlds. Right now, augmented reality and virtual reality software are the most readily-available assets for building the metaverse. Therefore, companies should design and deploy virtual wearables and applications to operate their digital products and services.
- Virtual environment. To thrive in the metaverse, organizations must find where the customers are at. Many people are purchasing digital properties on virtual world platforms like The Sandbox, Decentraland, and Cryptovoxels. Each platform has different features that lets companies build and monetize digital assets. So, corporations must conduct research on which platform their customers would likely engage in.
- Common virtual currency. Virtual currencies in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be used in trading in the metaverse. In this regard, corporations must be careful in choosing currencies to sell and buy from their partners and other companies. These currencies may also depend on the virtual platforms that the company has chosen, so it is also advisable to consider it in reviewing metaverse market plans.
- Organizational investments. Interoperability is the key concept of the metaverse, so it should be connected and accessible to all. Organizations must be ready to invest on making these technologies accessible for their workforce, including their targeted customers. In doing so, it would be advisable to explore digital products and services through low-cost innovations first.
How to thrive in the metaverse market
The metaverse may be picking its production pace now, and businesses wouldn’t want to be the last one to join in this innovation opportunity. After all, adapting innovations is part of the corporate world and to avoid doing so, can lead to loss of brand relevance and profits in the coming years.
But since the metaverse is still new and corporations are still trying to grasp how the dynamics in this virtual world would be, it pays for businesses to be prepared. Make your corporation metaverse-ready with these SMART tips on how to prepare joining in the metaverse market.
- Start planning for AR and VR contents.
Metaverse is a mixture of augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) worlds. And right now, AR and VR technologies are rampant, giving businesses the opportunity to explore the virtual capacities of their operations and products.
As early as now, companies can start planning for the AR and VR contents for their brand. Streamline business products and services slowly but surely for smooth transitioning to the metaverse. After this, focus on other sectors of the company like workforce or inventory management.
- Create and test contents on virtual worlds.
Technology has enabled society to create and test out products and services without having to go through extra costs in building them physically. One example is how construction engineers now uses digital simulations or 3D-printed models to assess the safety of new structural projects.
Should a corporation decide to venture in the metaverse, drafting virtual contents is just the start of their journey. They must also create these AR and VR contents and actually test them on the virtual world. An awesome project may not be exactly awesome if placed in the digital environment, and could only place disappointment and distrust among partners if it doesn’t work.
- Partner with corporations in the AR and VR industry.
Business partnerships are necessary in the corporate world. It is a symbiotic relationship that help both businesses grow and weather future problems that their organizations may encounter. Such partnerships also hold a vital part in the future of the metaverse.
If a corporation has not yet incorporated or delve into AR and VR opportunities, it is best to partner with a company that specializes in such. There are lots of companies right now, especially in the gaming sector, that has successfully capture great customer experience through AR and VR technologies. Before competition for metaverse partnerships get tougher, joining forces right now can ensure the metaverse future of a company.
- Invest on future cybersecurity solutions.
The metaverse, like all other huge technological advancements, would be co-created by global corporations and authorities. Everything will be checked to ensure a safe and fully functional digital environment. But of course, companies must also do their part in protecting their data from threat actors who will certainly make their way into the metaverse.
As with the present cybersecurity solutions, be ready to invest on new data protection and privacy measures. Have solid plans in place for business recovery. Communicate and orient the entire organization about cybersecurity protocols and regulations that are metaverse-specific.
- Explore customer profiling options.
One of the foreseen problems of the metaverse is the unpredictable brand engagement. The omnichannel market taught companies that one user may demand different contents on different platforms from only one brand. So, corporations must be prepared to meet the changing demands of users in the combined world of AR and VR.
Prepare for customer profiling options right now. There are lots of them out in the market, and one of them is the identity resolution platform. It is compliant to data privacy rules and regulations, while also prioritizing personalizing customer profiles; therefore, making better user experiences.
The metaverse appears like a future possibility, but we don’t know how soon the future is. But for a corporation to remain resilient to the ever-changing technology landscape, it is best to view this innovation as an opportunity. As the society anticipates on how the metaverse concept will turn out, businesses can use these waiting time to prepare for what’s to come.
Reference Links
https://www.iotforall.com/impact-of-the-metaverse-on-manufacturing
https://www.xrtoday.com/virtual-reality/doing-business-in-the-metaverse-opportunity-or-threat/
https://www.fastcompany.com/90705119/the-metaverse-an-innovation-worth-leadership-attention
https://fortune.com/2021/12/03/metaverse-business-nfts-real-estate-virtual-reality-roblox/
https://skywell.software/blog/metaverse-definition-and-meaning-in-businesses/
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/marketing-in-the-metaverse/416813/