It is expected that in the next five years, the metaverse will reach millions worldwide. This makes it an unbeatable showcase to position yourself as a brand or launch new businesses.
We are talking about the companies of the metaverse, which are increasingly accelerating their adaptation to virtual or augmented reality technology.
However, this fact does not dispel the doubts that arise in any company. Will it be a complementary space or the only place to operate? Should any vestiges of the analogue business model be abandoned? What real possibilities will the metaverse offer to companies?
The challenges of companies in the metaverse
Although, for now, there is a vague idea of what the real metaverse will look like, it seems clear that to become a fully operational virtual world, it will have to offer experiences while overcoming numerous challenges. Among them, we highlight the following:
Reputation and identity
One of the main challenges will be to ask what will be the elements that make up the very identity of people or companies in the metaverse. In the face of an increasingly digitized world, something in line with the problems is already being corrected with legislation such as the RGPD.
The authentication of personal or identifying information in the metaverse seems key to guaranteeing the security of those individuals or companies that wish to leap. For all these reasons, it is vital to be updated concerning new verification methods and have technologies guaranteeing information’s decentralization.
Data Protection
Suppose data privacy and security are already a significant challenge in the real world. In that case, they will continue to be a constant concern in the metaverse. For this reason, the digital leap involves the development of security methods and protecting information in the company. The objective is to prevent leaks of sensitive data due to cyber-attacks and guarantee the security of corporate identity.
Currency and payment system
The metaverse is a bridge between real and digital currencies to ensure everyone can access it. At least, the main protometaverses are already operational. But, beyond the problem that investment in currencies without the backing of any kind can entail, the digitization of the economy also implies a global challenge.
For this reason, one of the great efforts is being made to develop a new unique transaction verification system. The challenge will be convincing users that they can trust and, more importantly, feel safe while engaging in any trade within the metaverse.
Legislation and jurisdiction
Other points that will influence the preparation of the future metaverse are legislation and jurisdiction. For example, one of the main consequences will be that states must redefine the current virtual legal domains and even think about creating new ones.
Predictably, this projected metaverse will gather a large number of users. This supposes a multiplication of opportunities to connect and exchange information.
But, at the same time, it makes users more vulnerable in the absence of clear and concise legislation capable of regulating the limits. At the same time, it will be a real challenge to define the jurisdictional scope and create a set of legislations that can guarantee that the virtual space is safe for its users.
Properties
Theoretically, companies in the metaverse can purchase and own various items and assets. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have accelerated their growth rate in popularity. They have already become the most attractive currency for investors and users. Similar to how NFTs currently represent real-world objects — granting and proving ownership rights to the art, music, video, and much more — the challenge will be to create a unified system that can be used to verify virtual asset holders. In the metaverse.
Communities and networks
All that is needed for a metaverse to exist is social immersion in the broadest sense. This will allow people to interact, work together, mingle with friends and have fun virtually. An evolution of what platforms such as Discord, Twitter Spaces or Clubhouse offer today.
In this sense, the metaverse will unite a diverse community, allowing people and companies from all over the world to connect in a unified virtual world.
Thus, the metaverse could become the universal platform to interact and form meaningful relationships. To do this, it will have to take it to a new level, pairing visual fidelity with greater sensory immersion, as haptic technology is already beginning to happen.
Time and space
But one of the biggest concerns regarding this fantastic virtual world does not have to do with technology… but with physics. Some are already warning that the perception of time in the metaverse could be different, as users tend to be less aware of their bodies while inside augmented reality. Therefore, the big question is: how can you get users to stay in touch with the natural world?
In parallel, the space of the metaverse is potentially infinite. Therefore, at first, it can be quite a challenge for users to immerse themselves in such a vast digital universe, trying to assimilate so much and so varied information simultaneously.
It is not unreasonable to think that both the perception of time and space in the metaverse will require orientation during the first steps of immersion to ensure that users are aware and comfortable while inside the virtual environment.
