In his book, The Salmon of Doubt, Douglas Adams sets out three rules that describe our reactions to technologies:
- Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary.
- Anything that's invented between when you’re between 15 and 35 is exciting and a potential career.
- Anything invented after you're 35 is against the natural order of things.
Regardless of age, the ‘metaverse’ probably fits into the third category for most of us. But by 2026, one of four of us will be spending at least one hour in it every day. At least, that’s what Gartner says.
►Hype to become reality with new approaches that extend digital business concepts
►Virtual offices will become immersive workspaces
►Virtual economy within the metaverse will use digital currencies and NFTs
We will use these virtual areas – which the analyst describes as ‘a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality’ – for work, shopping, education, and for social and/or entertainment purposes. Apparently.
‘Vendors are already building ways for users to replicate their lives in digital worlds,’ said Marty Resnick, research vice president at Gartner. ‘From attending virtual classrooms to buying digital land and constructing virtual homes, these activities are currently being conducted in separate environments. Eventually, they will take place in a single environment – the metaverse – with multiple destinations across technologies and experiences.’
The metaverse will provide enhanced immersive experiences and be accessible through any type of device, from tablets to head-mounted displays. Gartner says that no single vendor will own the metaverse and commercially, it will be run using a virtual economy in which digital currencies and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are used.
There will be immersive workspaces in virtual offices and the metaverse will have its own infrastructures. Virtual events (something we are all used to now) will become much more collaborative and immersive. Gartner believes that enterprises will create new business models using the metaverse and predicts that, by 2026, 30% of organisations will have products and services ready for use or sale in the metaverse.
However, Resnick also sounded a note of caution. ‘It is still too early to know which investments will be viable in the long term, but product managers should take the time to learn, explore and prepare for a metaverse in order to position themselves competitively.’
