What is the Metaverse and what is its future? That is a question that many people are asking nowadays. According to a report published by Gartner, it will be really positive. This company predicted that, by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour per day in a metaverse. They will enter the metaverse to work, shop or simply socialize.
However, it also represents a huge challenge for companies. According to the same research, by that year 30% of organizations will have products and services ready in the metaverse, as they believe that immersive metaverse experiences will be a differentiating factor to attract users and increase sales.
For this reason, the metaverse generates enormous enthusiasm, both among users and companies. However, where do we stand today, and has there been any progress since the announcement made by Meta -formerly Facebook- in October 2021? What are the expectations for the future? We will tell you about it, here.
What is the metaverse and what can it be used for?
“The new digital revolution”, “an innovative way to connect with others” or “a virtual world of infinite possibilities”. These have all been some ways of explaining the metaverse meaning. However, we can go a little further and make a more precise description.
The definition of metaverse can be an “interactive online space”. Through a series of Virtual Reality devices, people can feel that they are part of this world. So, the generated digital environment is so immersive that people believe they are inside it and not behind a screen.
In this way, understanding what the metaverse is means being aware that it could completely revolutionize today’s Internet. The reason is that the metaverse can take the immersive experience to the next level. That’s why companies like Meta, one of the pioneers in talking about the “metaverse,” are investing a lot in technology to create this online world.
What could be the advantages of the metaverse in the future?
It is worth mentioning that there are several advantages of the metaverse that could start to be noticed in the future. Here are the main ones:
Digital advertising
“What is the metaverse? Well, the metaverse could completely redefine today’s advertising. Imagine ads could be part of a digital ecosystem! That is, just like the ads you see on the street. For example, you can imagine a tour of a city online, with different ads on digital screens. And this would generate a new, less expensive visibility space for companies.
Sales in VR
Thanks to Virtual Reality in the metaverse, companies could open different stores in the metaverse. Then, users could attend them, see the products in an immersive way and proceed to purchase. This new experience could completely revolutionize the e-commerce sector, as companies could decide to offer their products in these digital worlds.
Disruptive experiences
It should not be forgotten that betting on the development of the metaverse will mean being at the forefront, which is one of the benefits of the metaverse. In other words, by being part of this new digital system or creating their own, users could find themselves with new disruptive experiences, allowing them to make a difference.
What is the current status and future of the metaverse?
We have already seen what the metaverse is and what its future might be, but where do we stand today? For now, it is known that Meta, the main driver of this project, will continue to allocate a large part of its budget toward improving Virtual Reality technologies.
More specifically, during 2023 it will allocate 20% of its budget for the development of Reality Labs, which is the company dedicated to innovating in the Metaverse technology. However, to date, they have not offered too significant advances in the immersion generated by their worlds.
There is an important issue that needs to be clarified: the metaverse does not have to be one. While Meta will try to make theirs the most widely used, there may be hundreds of different metaverses, run by different companies. So the success of one or the other will depend on the innovative experiences they can bring to the users.
Now, what about the future of the metaverse? Well, one of the next steps will be the interoperability and portability of digital assets, which implies the possibility of being able to freely move from one metaverse to another a certain element or the avatar itself. This is one of the steps that the community is needing.
In addition, at Epidata we have already taken some important steps regarding the metaverse. For example, Martin Goro and Daniel Bordon, responsible for the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) practice conducted a 100% virtual talk for the 2022 Digital Societies Forum, which you can learn about here.
In conclusion, you already know what the metaverse is and you understand that it can be positive for companies because of the possibilities it offers. As Epidata is a company at the forefront, we are always aware of this and other developments in our Research, Development, and Innovation area. We invite you to learn more about it.
About Epidata
Global privately-owned company specialized in innovation outsourcing, dedicated to providing software development and software design services, application modernization, RPA, machine learning and Big Data, among others. Its solutions transform businesses, optimizing operations and co-creating better digital experiences for customers and employees.
Epidata has alliances with leading innovation and knowledge companies such as Microsoft, GitLab, Mulesoft, Salesforce, Oracle, MariaDB, Red Hat and HelpSystems. These partnerships help other companies to stay current.
Epidata operates in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and the United States (San Francisco, California), where it has a track record of successful support to multinational corporations such as Stanford Research Institute International, JP Morgan, Tenaris, Turner, Telecom, HSBC, Monsanto, Walmart, Asana, among others.
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