Enterprises Move Into the Metaverse

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The world became much more familiar with virtual meetings about two years ago. But GoToMeeting was developed in 2004, and Zoom was founded in 2011, so virtual meetings are not as new as they feel. 

When we look back 15 years from now, we might be saying the same thing about meetings in the metaverse. As with any new technology, we expect to see the metaverse go through the familiar product lifecycle: 

  • Innovators are already finding ways to work in the metaverse

  • Early adopters are identifying opportunities and looking at pilot programs 

  • The early majority is sitting back to watch how things play out before jumping in

  • The late adopters and laggards aren’t yet paying attention to the metaverse

It’s weird to think about the possibility of both sitting at home in your sweatpants while also being in a design and engineering meeting via avatar or hologram. But that futuristic idea is here. 

One of the earliest and most successful applications of work in the metaverse is training—everything from making employee onboarding more engaging to helping heavy equipment operators train in a risk-free virtual environment. 

Not surprisingly, the metaverse comes with challenges and questions, as any new technology does. 

  • A changing job environment as physical location becomes less important

  • New rules and best practices for virtual offices (if I’m at home, it’s not a faux pas to burn popcorn, right?)

  • Privacy and corporate monitoring

Enterprises are just scratching the surface of what’s possible in the metaverse, a term that has only been around since 1992. (Side note: 1992 was 30 years ago. That feels weird.)

Just like our own galaxy, the metaverse will continue to expand, and we’ve only explored a tiny corner of it.