The recent increased focus on the metaverse sparked interest at Datonics to take a closer look at the future of data and what it will look like in this new medium. After all, at its foundation, the metaverse is data.
First, let’s take a look at the infrastructure. To turn data into a metaverse experience is quite extraordinary and presents many opportunities. In this environment, there will be a need for data to be ingested, stored, accessed, analyzed and enriched, all in real-time.
There will also need be a heavy focus on establishing privacy standards via entirely new models that go beyond gated content and granted consumer consent.
Beyond infrastructure, there are so many opportunities for data application in the metaverse. Let’s examine just a few of the experiences we will have in the metaverse and data’s role:
· Commerce – Commerce will thrive in the metaverse, and in theory, brands will have a much better window into what consumers like, creating a better and more relevant experience. The more time consumers spend in the metaverse, the more data will be available to help marketers make not just campaigns, but tailored products that appeal to consumers.
· Travel – Going on a trip in the metaverse? Yes! This will be an entirely new travel category in the future and imagining these kinds of experiences is exciting. For example, we could go visit places where we cannot physically go like under the ocean, into space or into the depths of the earth. While we currently have documentaries that take us on these types of journeys, the metaverse experience will incorporate more than just vision and sound. It will feel like we’re actually swimming with fish or floating in space. To make such trips possible, there will need to be a vast storage of data taken from these locations and rendered in the metaverse.
· B2B – Business in the metaverse is going to be big. We have already accelerated the move to a hybrid and remote workforce, and have identified a lack of in-person collaboration as the biggest drawback to the new normal. Improved collaboration technology will gain adoption in the business world and gathering together virtually will become more commonplace. Data will become even more critical to B2B marketers to engage with customers in these new environments.
· Finance – It will be interesting to see how the finance world adapts to the metaverse and if there will be an entire new finance exchange for the metaverse. Regardless of how it manifests, companies will seek out data to help make informed decisions on where to invest.