70% Of Business Executives Plan To Integrate The Metaverse Into Their Organisational Activities: PwC India Report

As businesses embrace the metaverse across the globe, almost 70 per cent of business executives in India plan to integrate the metaverse into their organisational activities as per the report by PwC India titled, “Our Take - Embracing the Metaverse.” Additionally, 63 per cent of companies that are actively engaged with the metaverse say they will fully embed the metaverse in their organisational activities within a year.

Ashootosh Chand, Partner, Digital and Emerging Technologies, PwC India, said, “The metaverse opportunity is enormous and we expect exponential growth because it is relevant across genders, geographies, and generations. Consumers are open to adopting new technologies and companies are investing heavily in the required infrastructure to leverage the metaverse. We can already see brands experimenting in the metaverse to delight their customers.”

Discussing how a lot of the metaverse’s success will rely upon utilising data effectively, Sudipta Ghosh, Partner & Leader – Data & Analytics, PwC India said, “Metaverse allows organisations to be really innovative about how they can meaningfully engage with the customers, employees and the broader ecosystem. There is enough evidence that the “hype” is getting replaced by better appreciation of driving tangible business outcomes as the technology further matures.”  

Key takeaways from the report:

• Understanding of the metaverse: More than 60 per cent of the business leaders surveyed by PwC India affirmed that they have a detailed or good understanding of the metaverse. Of the companies surveyed, 22 per cent represent Telecom, Media and Technology (TMT), 19 per cent FS, 16 per cent pharma and healthcare, 15 per cent retail and consumer, 12 per cent industrial products, 9 per cent government and 7 per cent automotive and edtech. 79 per cent of those in the TMT sector indicate that they either have a detailed or a good understanding of the domain. 
• Integrating the metaverse into business: Globally, businesses have started exploring partnerships with some of the leading players in the metaverse to explore business opportunities. However, the metaverse ecosystem in India is still at a nascent stage. 25 per cent of India respondents say that their metaverse plans will be fully embedded in their activities within a year, while 47 per cent say that this will take place in 2–3 years. 
• Creating new opportunities: At least 39 per cent of India respondents in the survey say that the metaverse will be a social platform for their company. Nearly 20 per cent feel that it will revolutionise businesses, creating a mega gig/creator economy. 9 per cent believe that it is the next incarnation of the internet. Some, however, are still undecided — 24 per cet are unsure about how they feel about the ramifications of the metaverse. 
• Leveraging the metaverse: In India, companies are most likely to create virtual content for customers to engage with on the metaverse (17 per cent). 13 per cent said they would like to provide onboarding and training through the metaverse and 11 per cent  would like to use the metaverse to create communities. 
• Concerns & risks: 36 per cent of those surveyed said cybersecurity poses the biggest risk for businesses in India. 28 per cent respondents felt the technological limitations could pose a challenge. 

In the US as well, cybersecurity tops the list, followed by privacy risks, which is the third-most important risk area for India respondents.