The metaverse is the latest trend that’s sweeping the globe at the moment. It’s risen to popularity thanks to Facebook rebranding itself as Meta, and Mark Zuckerberg (News - Alert) talking at great lengths about the concept of creating a metaverse.

For the average person, this all seems like gibberish. What exactly is the metaverse, and how will it impact our lives? More specifically, what does this mean for businesses in the future? Claims have been made about how it will reshape the business landscape, but what should companies be prepared for?

What is the metaverse?

The simplest way to think about the metaverse is by viewing it as a term for a new digital world. Right now, when we go online and browse the web, we do so through web browsers. We see page upon page of information, and it’s been like this ever since the internet was first invented.

With the metaverse, the idea is that we change the way we communicate and experience the online world. Instead of seeing web pages, we will be inside a digital world that’s constantly updating. A key part of the metaverse is virtual reality technology. One of the biggest aims is to create this virtual world that you can enter and experience outside of the physical space you’re in.

Imagine you are browsing the web, but instead of sitting at your PC looking at pages, you’re in a digital world walking along, looking at all these different virtual creations. Instead of browsing an e-commerce site, you might walk into a digital store and view all of the products as if you’re in a real brick-and-mortar shop. But, it doesn’t all have to be in VR - you could still use your PC or phone, but the metaverse would be a digital world. It would kind of be like you’re playing a video game - like The Sims - only you’re able to do things like buying clothes, doing your grocery shopping, talking to your friends, and so on.

What does this mean for businesses?

Naturally, if the metaverse does become the new way we expose ourselves to the internet, this will mean significant changes for businesses. Most notably, they’d have to adapt to the virtual way of life. Instead of developing traditional websites, you’d have to develop a more virtual presence on the metaverse. The idea of virtual technology in the business world isn’t really a new thing. You can get a virtual street address and a virtual assistant with ease. Some companies even use VR headsets when consulting clients - it’s a good way of showing them how something might look before it has been made.

So, businesses will have to do a lot of research into the technology required to get on the metaverse and establish themselves there. It will most likely be like making the shift from the old-school way of doing business to setting yourself up online, but more advanced.

Not only that, but the metaverse could impact the way businesses are run. It is definitely advertised and hyped as this brand new way of communicating with one another digitally. Therefore, we could say goodbye to the office for good. Future small businesses might run on the metaverse, interacting with clients and employees through virtual reality. It brings a face-to-face element to proceedings without two people needing to be in the same physical space. The pandemic showed us that video calls are highly effective ways of communication, but the metaverse could take things another step forward.

Will the metaverse be a success?

While businesses should probably start getting to know the metaverse and what it means for them, there are still question marks over if it will work or not. The biggest argument is that it is basically just a form of virtual reality, and virtual reality has never really kicked on. There are games out there already where you can walk around a digital community, but does that mean we want our entire digital experience to be like this?

There is a concern that the metaverse won’t be a success because consumers aren’t buying into it. Tech companies are certainly investing lots of money in the concept, so it is most likely going to be something that launches in the future. Whether or not it will succeed and become the new way of approaching the internet remains to be seen.

For now, just get a basic understanding of the metaverse and what it might mean for your business. Do some research into how you can take advantage of the new technology, and stay on top of all future updates.