Metaverse technology is seeing a strong early pickup, although at-scale adoption is likely to be 8-10 years away, according to a report by the industry association NASSCOM.
Metaverse has many interpretations. However, with growing
consensus about the key characteristics of this technology, Metaverse refers to
a persistent and immersive virtual world experience with digital-physical
fusion that allows interoperability, and concurrency to enhance a user's
ability to meaningfully interact, transact and move virtual identity, assets
and data from one world to another.
"While at-scale Metaverse adoption is likely to be 8-10
years away, and majority implementations are at POC (proof of concept) or MVP
(minimum viable product) stage, the space is witnessing strong early
adoption," said the report by the National Association of Software and
Services Companies (NASSCOM) along with McKinsey and Company as the knowledge
partner.
The report looks at key trends in adoption, potential
applications of the Metaverse, and opportunities for service providers to take
an active role in this development.
Enterprise Metaverse adoption maturity trends are similar to
AI trends back in 2017.
A survey conducted by McKinsey and Company found that 57
percent CXOs in 2022 have Metaverse initiatives underway, both long and
short-term.
Metaverse has taken a forefront position with recent
technology advancements to potentially become the next evolution of the
internet.
While the term 'Metaverse' has existed for nearly two
decades, the novel internet avatar has seen an accelerated development driven
by the technology revolution, consumer readiness and the rise of consumer-led
marketing.
"Significant PE/VC investments and strong merger and
acquisition commitments have been announced in H1 of 2022, amounting to more
than $120 billion value (roughly Rs. 9,79,458 crore) (based on estimates
between Jan-May'22)," a NASSCOM statement said.
Enterprises are starting to implement metaverse use cases
across the value chain.
By 2030, sectors such as retail, manufacturing, media,
healthcare, telecom, professional services and banking are likely to be major
spending drivers of enterprise use cases in Metaverse.
Emerging use cases in customer engagement, multi-channel
customer support and real-time simulations for product designing are gaining
traction, according to NASSCOM's report.
It is also expected to "gamify" the future of work
and workforce collaborations. Several initiatives are underway such as
re-imagining learning and development using gamified AR/VR (Augmented
Reality/Virtual Reality) based learning suites with virtual instructors,
creating an immersive recruitment and employee onboarding with avatar
interaction and networking with employees at job fairs and imagining digital
twin offices for employee collaborations and meetings.
That said, the technology's at-scale potential will be
determined by factors such as clarity on return on investment, technology and
talent readiness, and the ability to address societal concerns.
According to an independent study by McKinsey and Company,
30-40 percent of CXOs surveyed report uncertain returns on their Metaverse
investments and initiatives remain experimental.
The emerging talent pool in areas of 3D/Technical artists,
Motion Designers, Graphics Engineers, AR/VR & Software Engineers, etc. will
be key to achieving at-scale Metaverse capability building in future, it said.