How metaverse will be a gamechanger for industries in 2023 and beyond

Metaverse has become the hottest buzzword after the rebranding of Facebook to Meta in October 2021 and observed a massive increase in metaverse projects. Metaverse represents a combinatorial innovation, as it needs multiple technologies and trends to function. It is a combination of the digital world where advanced technologies like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchains coexist. It will transform the way we interact, sign business deals and affect the internet and our lives. It basically brings together all the real-world activities like playing games, going to a concert, celebrating parties and even owning a piece of land in a virtual space. Lately, metaverse has stormed the internet and has opened means of profit and investment for everyone and they are thinking about how to prepare themselves for this new technology.

In fact, as per McKinsey’s 2022 report, titled, “Value creation in the metaverse,” over US $120 billion has been invested in metaverse-related projects in the first five months alone, more than double the US $57 billion in all of 2021. India currently ranks at the 5th position on the list of top countries driving the metaverse market. Tech companies in India and globally are all routing for this virtual world. Metaverse will play an important role for cloud service providers due to the huge amount of data storage and processing that is needed to sustain the virtual world.

Many experts and industry leaders believe that metaverse will offer more opportunities to increase its revenue. For example, J.P. Morgan has become the first major bank to establish a presence in the metaverse. The firm predicts that it will provide a market opportunity of US $1 trillion and is eyeing virtual real estate. This highlights how there are plenty of opportunities for enterprises to capture a share in this virtual industry, especially in 2023 when the metaverse market is expected to see rapid growth.

Here are a few trends that highlight how the metaverse will be a game-changer in 2023 and beyond.

Revamp the marketing platforms

As per a Gartner report, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse for working, shopping, education, social media, and entertainment. This opens new possibilities for marketers to connect with their audience in an entirely new landscape. With consumers always on the lookout for new ways to connect with their brands, the metaverse, will no doubt, provide them with a great way to engage with their customers.

Consumer giants such as Nike and Gucci are already strengthening their position in the metaverse market. Moreover, the users of metaverse platforms will pave the way for promotional and marketing efforts that will help enterprises to build, communicate and deliver engaging customer experiences.

Transform the working environment

Today’s workforce prefers a remote working environment. While a few enterprises are still pushing for an in-office environment, many have already started to lean heavily on a remote or hybrid environment. However, one of the biggest challenges for employers is building trust and relationships with employees without in-person interaction. While the collaboration and communication solutions have been advanced, they still do not provide avenues to strengthen the professional bond between the two.

Metaverse will offer enterprises to connect with their employees in an immersive way that is somewhat missing in today’s collaboration solutions. It will enable employees to build interactive environments inside their corresponding web-dependent platforms. Additionally, people from multiple physical locations can team up while sharing their experiences in today’s digital world.

Furthermore, people will be able to build real-world products and simplify operations in the safe environment of the digital world. This will significantly reduce the cost associated with the development and testing of the same in virtual environments.

In hindsight, metaverse will provide enterprises with platforms, tools, and entire virtual environments where businesses can be done remotely, with utmost efficiency and improved performance.

Enhance the education and training experiences

One of the most exciting avenues of the metaverse lies in education and training. Using metaverse, enterprises can boost educational efforts and help to establish a more engaging learning experience. In fact, as per a study conducted by PwC, employees that train using Virtual Reality (VR) simulations learn 4x faster than classroom learners and 2x as fast as e-learners. Leveraging metaverse to teach employees soft and hard skills will allow enterprises to significantly reduce the cost associated with hiring people.

The rise in metaverse events

Since in-person interactions were restricted during the pandemic, enterprises had no choice but to conduct virtual events, conferences, and webinars for their prospects and customers. Initially, the virtual event industry seemed to struggle. However, the advanced technologies improved engagement and networking opportunities for prospects and enterprises.

With metaverse, enterprises are planning to take their events to the next level. In 2023 and beyond, organizations will start conducting virtual metaverse events that provide virtual fairs and booths for enhancing networking amongst people across the world.

Furthermore, the metaverse will reach $800 billion by 2024 tackling live events and ads, pushing enterprises to increase their efforts in capitalizing on this opportunity.

Metaverse: Another revolution within the technology sector
The potential of the metaverse to disrupt the enterprise sector is huge. It will enable enterprises to create a unique brand image of themselves by offering a more immersive experience. However, the technology is still in its nascent stage but it has the capacity to transform the way people interact with each other in the digital world. Capitalizing on metaverse in 2023 will require enterprises to create better strategies by leveraging data and listening to their customers’ feedback for delivering a fascinating metaverse experience.

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