Since Facebook officially became Meta in October 2021, backing its vision with an investment of $10 billion, the term Metaverse has become commonplace. For more than a year, insiders have been trying to understand (and sometimes create) the benefits for their business. End users are intrigued by what promises to be the next Internet evolution.
Perhaps there has been an excessive focus on the Metaverse over the past year, with the result that companies today are not fully aware of its potential, the challenges required to derive real value from it and the steps needed to become part of it. In such cases, the risk is that an extraordinary opportunity can be relegated to a secondary role while waiting for more certainty, leaving the field open to competitors.
We have created a brief Metaverse vademecum from the specific perspective of a company of any size that intends to focus on innovation and that, rightly, demands reliable and direct information to assess whether or not to 'enter' the Metaverse.
Metaverse originates from the cyberpunk novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, published in 1992. All the definitions given in the last year delineate the next evolution of the Internet, aimed at leveraging the most innovative technologies (Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, AI, Blockchain, NFT...) to create an immersive and interactive experience. Metaverse is an evolution of the Internet, passing from the concept of browsing to living a persistent and shared experience that extends from the real world to an entirely virtual one.
No. Metaverse is a concept, not a technology or a platform. Depending on their business model and objectives, companies may decide to establish their presence on an existing platform (Roblox, Decentraland, High-street) or develop a corporate Metaverse to benefit employees, customers, efficiency and stakeholders in general.
In the B2C universe, creating a corporate presence in a Metaverse (populated by a specific type of user) means developing new modes of interaction with target audiences, using innovation to intercept new customers and retain existing ones. It is also possible to sell directly in the Metaverse by creating virtual shops that are, for all intents and purposes, the 2.0 evolution of current e-commerce.
For companies, the Metaverse is a broader concept than a mere 'presence' on a third-party platform. Here are some opportunities:
Costs depend on the platform, or in the case of the Enterprise Metaverse, on developing and hosting the system. In the latter case, prices can be more than affordable, thanks to low-code platforms provided as a cloud service, including hosting, for a single monthly fee.
No. In the case of a low-code platform, a company can release its first virtual environments in a few weeks. The project can then continue in successive phases.
No, a web browser is sufficient to make the most of a corporate Metaverse.
ROI calculation depends on the purpose of the project. Some KPIs may relate to the level of adoption, customer satisfaction, participation in events and the occupancy level of virtual environments, retention and increased turnover. It is always essential to optimise costs, which is an irreplaceable ally in low-code platforms provided as a SaaS service.