The metaverse will revolutionize the world of work and business, and companies that don’t want to be left behind had better follow suit, according to global consultancy Accenture, which recently released a report on the subject. The company already operates its own metaverse itself, the Nth Floor or Nth Floor in English, where employees can attend conferences and socialize with colleagues from all over the world.
“Businesses are heading into a very different future than they were originally designed for as the next generation of the Internet is unfolding. This will lead to a new wave of digital transformations,” said Martine Lapointe, general manager of the Montreal office for Accenture.
In a world where the physical mixes with the virtual, they absolutely must take an interest in the “metaverse continuum” and develop a strategy in this area, she believes. By “continuum”, Accenture means the whole range of technologies that relate directly or indirectly to the metaverse, whether we think of virtual reality, blockchain, artificial intelligence, but also connected objects. “All of this will transform the way we live, work and consume,” believes Mme The point.
According to a survey carried out by Accenture in 35 countries, the vast majority (more than 70%) of companies foresee that developments in the metaverse will have an impact on their organization, while only less than a third (28%) of them they estimate that this new technology will have little or no impact on their activities. Percentages do not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Already in retail, brands like Nike or Gucci are exploiting the avenues of the metaverse. For example, in 2021, the Italian company specializing in luxury fashion created The Gucci Garden Experience to offer virtual products and sold a digital twin of a handbag for a higher price than its real-world counterpart, the Accenture report cited as an example.
As the Internet has revolutionized the way companies make sales, the metaverse will also help to attract new consumers, believes Ms.me The point.
The “Nth Floor”
The consulting giant Accenture, meanwhile, sensed the potential of the metaverse very early on by creating the Nth Floor. “We use it to introduce new employees, also to socialize in teams, or even create immersive learning environments,” explains Martine Lapointe.
In an interview with the magazine FortuneAllison Horn, who handles global recruiting for the company, says the idea first came from human resources, who were looking for new ways to collaborate and include new hires as most of the teams were still working from home because of the pandemic.
It was in March 2021 that the idea of creating an enterprise metaverse to increase digital collaboration was born, explained Mr.me Horn to the American media. And to allow employees access to the Nth Floor, Accenture had to order 60,000 Oculus headsets over the past year.
Martine Lapointe, from the Montreal team, took part in the experience herself. “There are many advantages in terms of connection. You really feel like you’re next to the person! Much more than when you only see yourself in 2D on the computer. It’s a completely different experience,” says Ms.me The point.
According to Fortunein 2021, around 11,000 employees at Accenture globally were able to access its metaverse, but the company expects 150,000 employees to be able to take part in the experience by the end of this fiscal year. .