Metaverse Technology

Over the next 5 years, 40% of large organizations worldwide will use a combination of Web3, AR cloud and digital twins in metaverse projects to increase revenue, research and consulting firm Gartner predicted Monday during his computer symposium in Orlando, Florida.

Gartner's metaverse prediction was on the list of top 10 strategic technology trends announced at the event.

The company considers the metaverse to be "a collective shared 3D virtual space created by the convergence of virtually nonexistent augmented physical and digital reality." It is durable and provides an enhanced immersive experience, he added.

A complete metaverse would be device-insensitive and vendor-neutral, continued Gartner, and would feature a virtual economy enabled by digital currency and non-fungible tokens ( NFT).

Gartner's forecast has caused controversy among some analysts. "It's a little aggressive.

He is going to have a corporate account," Mark N. Vena, president and principal of his analyst at SmartTech Research in San Jose, Calif., told TechNewsWorld.

“Some exist and will continue to emerge in operational areas such as inventory management, logistics, and other verticals, but until there is a metaverse app or apps that improve productivity, 40% I think it will grow,” Vina added.

Metaverse or metaverse?

Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research, a New York-based consumer technology consulting firm, also sees a number of challenges that could hinder the spread of the metaverse in the enterprise.

“At the national level, we need to improve the scale and energy efficiency of devices and wider applications beyond those in manufacturing, engineering and other industrial applications compared to other industrial applications. with us today,” he told TechNewsWorld.

“However, beyond these AR-related improvements, there are still open questions about whether the metaverse will evolve into a single, widely accessible platform, like the web, or whether companies will will develop most of their own applications, as they do with cloud technology today," he continued.

"However," added Rubin, "we are starting to see some standards. encouraging standards here, like the Metaverse Standards Forum.

Meta, the owner of Facebook, can also contribute to the traction of the metaverse, argues Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst of Enderle Group, a consulting services firm in Bend, Ore.

"Facebook's efforts are so bad that they're covering the whole segment and ironically they're the biggest investor in it," he told TechNewsWorld.

"Facebook really puts a big mark on the segment, implying that it's fake," he added, "although Nvidia's effort works much better and is well executed by the companies. like BMW, showing the potential that Facebook seems to be destroying at the moment."

Patience Needs

Impatience can also affect the sustainability of a company's metaverse, says Quynh Mai, CEO of Qulture, a New York City digital marketing agency.

"When brands walk into the metaverse, they are often discouraged because they don't understand that it's still a nascent but evolving platform," she said at TechNewsWorld. "We have a large number of users in metaverses like Decentraland and The Sandbox, and then we're not going back."

“With the technology powering Web3 evolving rapidly and developer activity increasing exponentially, patience is key. It's important to experiment now," she said.

“A looming US recession and IMF economic warnings have caused many brands to pull out of her Web3 and focus on short-term problems,” she continued. “But just like in the Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 era, brands that don't innovate will fall behind.”

“Web3 adoption is driven by Generation Z, who make up 25% of the world's population. If you are not on track, you will not be successful in 2027 and will not be able to connect with this cohort,” added Mai.

"Super Apps"

Gartner also predicts that by 2027, 50% of the world's population will actively use multiple "super apps" every day.

Super App combines the functionality of the app, platform and ecosystem into a single program. In addition to its own functionality, it provides a platform for third-party add-ons.

“Most examples of super apps are mobile apps, but the concept can also be applied to desktop client applications such as Microsoft Teams and Slack. It is to be made available to employees, Gartner vice presidents and analysts, Francis Karamousis said in a statement.

Multifunctional apps are always popular with users, says Enderle.

“A single app that handles many tasks has always been more attractive than multiple apps with a single focus because people want the complexity and learning curve that comes with a productive number of apps. "So the relative simplicity, perceived cost, and utility of superapps make them attractive." Rubin explained that it's been in the news lately since it said it was considering buying it as an accelerator for building Twitter.

“The model for this is his WeChat in China, which is used for various tasks such as reading messages, making payments, calling cars,” he said. “WeChat has been able to expand its functionality partly because there is no dominant operating system vendor and little competition outside of China.” “Nevertheless, Apple, for example, already supports playing games and sending money via its Messages app, and Telegram supports add-on bot applications that can offer many features beyond messaging.”

Sustainable Technology

Gartner says a strategic trend that permeates all others is sustainability. The company, citing one of its recent studies, said the CEO reported that environmental and social change is now one of his three priorities for investors, next to profits and sales.

This means that to achieve sustainability goals, leaders must invest more in innovative solutions designed to meet [environmental, social and responsible] requirements. .

“Technology adoption alone will not be enough in 2023,” said David Groombridge, vice president and analyst at Gartner, in a statement.

“These issues are influenced by environmental, social and governance expectations and regulations, leading to shared responsibility for the application of sustainable technologies,” he said in a statement.

“Investments in technology must be weighed against environmental impacts with future generations in mind,” he added. “The goal of ‘sustainable by default’ requires sustainable technology.”