The Metaverse isn’t just a buzzword anymore. Many companies are actively using the Metaverse to collaborate with creatives, customers and even colleagues from around the world.
Remote working is clearly here to stay, as employees continue to enjoy the benefits of working from home (or anywhere, for that matter). However, there is a downside to working remotely. Zoom fatigue, lack of connection, and collaboration difficulties are just a few of the challenges that we have to overcome. Experts believe that the Metaverse offers a way of circumventing those challenges by offering a far more engaging and authentic collaboration experience.
In this article, we will explore the concept of collaboration in the Metaverse in greater detail so that you can decide whether or not you want to move to virtual collaboration.
Understanding the Metaverse and Collaboration
The Metaverse is a virtual space where users can interact with digital representations of themselves, other users, objects, and environments. It is a fully immersive and interactive virtual universe that can be accessed through various devices, such as VR headsets, AR glasses, and even traditional desktop computers or smartphones.
The Metaverse was originally the domain of gamers, but businesses have realized that they can use the space to work together in this virtual universe. Multiple users can interact with each other in real-time in a virtual office environment, regardless of their physical locations, to achieve a common goal or complete a task.
Many companies are already hosting virtual meetings, virtual workspaces, virtual events, and completing virtual projects together in a virtual environment that simulates the physical world or goes beyond its limitations.
Companies That Collaborate in the Metaverse
While working in the metaverse is a relatively new concept, there are a few businesses that are refining their workspaces and setting up virtual offices or virtual headquarters in various Metaverse platforms, including:
NVIDIA
NVIDIA, a leading technology company known for its graphics processing units (GPUs), has established a virtual office in VRChat. The NVIDIA virtual office in VRChat serves as a hub for virtual events, product demos, and meetings. It provides a virtual space for employees, partners, and customers to collaborate, connect, and engage in virtual environments. NVIDIA has always focused on businesses first, and have said that if their employees don’t want to use their Metaverse products for collaboration, it shouldn’t be brought to market because it simply wouldn’t work. This “dogfooding” approach has allowed teams to test the feasibility of their offering in a real business environment before taking it to a wider audience.
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young (EY), one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, has established a virtual office in the virtual world of Second Life. The EY virtual office in Second Life serves as a space for virtual meetings, training, and networking events, allowing employees and clients to connect and collaborate in a virtual environment. EY wavespace provides experiences in the metaverse, allowing clients to bring teams together virtually to co-innovate and address business challenges.
EY US has also established a metaverse lab where technologists build customized metaverse environments for various use cases. This industry-leading capability, paired with EY's commitment to prioritize the needs of people and society in technology transformation, helps clients explore new digital frontiers securely and with integrity, while keeping humans at the center. EY wavespace in the metaverse allows clients to test new ideas, create prototypes, and gain fresh insights through virtual trade shows and immersive experiences. The EY metaverse lab helps clients identify opportunities in the metaverse by designing solutions across different platforms such as web, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR), customized per industry and client.
With these capabilities, EY teams are advising clients on robust strategies inclusive of new business models, technology interoperability, enhanced customer experiences, and risk mitigation, including tax, legal, and regulatory considerations. The goal of EY is to help businesses understand the potential of the metaverse and strategically adapt to the transition to a decentralized economy.
Accenture
Accenture, a global professional services company, has also established a virtual office in VRChat. The Accenture virtual office in VRChat serves as a virtual meeting space for employees and clients, offering a unique and immersive environment for collaborative activities, such as brainstorming, ideation, and virtual team-building exercises.
The company operates its own Metaverse, the Nth floor, where employees participate in new hire orientation and immersive learning or simply socialize and connect as teams. The company has said that 150,000 new hires will work in the Metaverse on their first day at the company.
This fiscal year, the company expects 150,000 or more new hires will work in the metaverse on their first day.
Microsoft
Microsoft, a leading technology company, has established a virtual office in its virtual reality platform, Microsoft Mesh. The Microsoft Mesh virtual office is a cloud-based platform that allows employees to meet and collaborate in shared, mixed reality experiences, leveraging VR or AR devices for virtual collaboration, communication, and content creation. Mesh combines Microsoft Mesh, a mixed-reality platform that enables holographic experiences, with the productivity tools of Microsoft Teams. Mesh for Teams aims to make online meetings more engaging and immersive, allowing users to join as customized avatars in virtual spaces. Mesh for Teams is accessible from various devices, including smartphones, laptops, and mixed-reality headsets, and is part of Microsoft's vision for the future of remote work and collaboration.
Benefits of Collaboration in the Metaverse
So, why are these companies moving to the Metaverse? There are several benefits to using the Metaverse as opposed to regular video conferencing or conventional tools, including:
Global Accessibility
70% of the world’s population was working from home during the pandemic, and many companies have retained that model (or adopted a hybrid working model) since then. One of the significant advantages of the Metaverse is that it transcends physical boundaries, allowing users from around the world to collaborate without the limitations of location. Users can interact with each other in real-time, regardless of their geographic location, making it possible to work with colleagues, partners, or clients from different countries or continents.
Enhanced Creativity and Innovation
The Metaverse provides a unique and immersive environment that stimulates creativity and innovation. Users can create, manipulate, and experiment with virtual objects and environments, enabling new forms of expression, exploration, and problem-solving. Collaborating in the Metaverse can foster creativity and innovation by providing a platform for brainstorming, prototyping, and testing ideas in a virtual space that encourages free thinking and experimentation.
NVIDIA's Omniverse Cloud is one such example. It allows individuals and teams to design and collaborate on 3D workflows without needing local compute power. Roboticists train, simulate, test, and deploy AI-enabled machines, while also providing autonomous vehicle engineers with the ability to generate sensor data and simulate various road and weather conditions for safe self-driving deployment. Early supporters of Omniverse Cloud include RIMAC Group, WPP, and Siemens. According to NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, Omniverse Cloud connects teams worldwide to design, build, and operate virtual worlds and digital twins, enabling smoother collaboration.
Cost and Time Efficiency
Virtual meetings and workspaces in the Metaverse eliminate the need for physical travel, reducing transportation costs and time spent commuting. Virtual events and conferences in the Metaverse can also save on costs associated with venue rentals, catering, and logistics. The Metaverse allows for asynchronous collaboration, where users can work at their own pace and contribute to a project or task at different times, avoiding time zone constraints and accommodating flexible work arrangements.
Increased Productivity and Engagement
The level of engagement in the Metaverse is far superior to that of conventional office tools, like Slack or Zoom. Virtual workspaces in the Metaverse can be designed to enhance focus, concentration, and creativity, providing tools and features that optimize workflow and facilitate collaboration. Virtual events and conferences in the Metaverse can offer interactive and immersive experiences that capture the attention and interest of participants, promoting active engagement and knowledge retention. The Metaverse can also provide opportunities for gamification, rewards, and incentives, motivating users to actively participate and contribute to collaborative efforts.
Employees can customize their virtual avatars, virtual workspaces, and virtual events to suit their preferences and needs, enhancing user experience, satisfaction, and overall the effectiveness of collaboration. They can communicate through voice chat, text chat, gestures, and expressions, making interactions more immersive and natural. Virtual environments in the Metaverse can also provide spatial audio, where users can hear conversations based on their virtual location, creating a sense of presence and enhancing communication.
Some metaverse environments even provide interactive tools and features, such as whiteboards, 3D models, and simulations, that make it easier for teams to work together to solve problems and make decisions.
How To Collaborate in the Metaverse
There are a few ways companies can use the Metaverse to foster collaboration, including:
Avatar-based collaboration
In many metaverse platforms, users create digital avatars that represent themselves and interact with others in virtual environments. Avatars can meet up, chat, share information, and work together on projects or tasks. Companies can set up virtual offices where avatars can meet and interact with one another in an organic and far more engaging way than standard video calls.
Shared virtual spaces
Virtual spaces can be created within the metaverse where multiple users can gather and collaborate. These virtual spaces may include meeting rooms, conference halls, workstations, or other interactive environments where users can interact, communicate, and collaborate in real-time.
Workers can have their own avatars, move around, communicate through voice or text chat, and access shared resources such as virtual whiteboards, documents, and other collaborative tools whenever they need to. A team of designers spread across different geographic locations can come together in a shared virtual space to review and edit 3D models in real-time, discuss design changes, and collaborate on a project. They can use virtual tools and interactive objects within the virtual space to make annotations, markups, and modifications to the 3D models, and communicate with each other through voice or text chat, just like a real office.
Virtual meetings and events
Just like in the physical world, virtual meetings and events can be organized in the metaverse, where users can join, participate, and collaborate. These can include virtual conferences, workshops, presentations, and other collaborative sessions.
Your company could organize a virtual conference where employees or participants from different locations can join using their avatars in a shared virtual space. Within this virtual space, participants can move around, interact with each other, attend presentations or workshops, ask questions, and engage in discussions, just like they would in a physical conference. They can also access virtual resources such as virtual documents, multimedia content, or interactive tools for collaborative activities.
Shared documents and assets
Users in the metaverse can collaborate on shared documents, files, and assets. These can include 3D models, design prototypes, presentations, and other digital assets that can be accessed and edited by multiple users simultaneously.
Mozilla Hubs, for example, lets users upload and share documents, images, videos, and other assets within the virtual spaces, and collaborate on them using interactive tools. Mozilla Hubs also supports integrations with popular productivity tools like Google Drive and Trello.
Many Metaverse platforms offer real-time communication tools such as voice chat, text chat, or messaging features that allow users to communicate and collaborate with each other while in the virtual environment.
Virtual tools
Virtual tools and interactive objects within the metaverse can enable collaboration in real-time or asynchronously. For example, Spatial.io provides virtual whiteboards that users can write on, draw on, and add sticky notes to. It also allows users to import 3D models and manipulate them within the virtual environment, facilitating collaborative 3D design, prototyping, and visualization. Users can upload and share slides, videos, and other multimedia content for virtual presentations, create virtual sticky notes, move and resize objects, and trigger interactive animations while working together in the platform.
Social networking and connections
Metaverse platforms may also offer social networking features that allow users to connect with each other, form groups, join communities, and collaborate with like-minded individuals or teams.
The Virtual Report" (TVR) is a great example. This virtual business networking platform provides a space for professionals and businesses to connect, network, and collaborate in the Metaverse. Users can create personalized avatars, navigate through virtual environments, and interact with others through voice, chat, and other virtual communication tools. They can participate in virtual events, attend virtual conferences, join virtual meetups, and engage in one-on-one or group networking sessions.
TVR also provides virtual business tools and features such as virtual business cards, virtual meeting rooms, virtual exhibition halls, and virtual content sharing. Users can showcase their products or services, engage in business discussions, and exchange ideas with other professionals from around the world.
Businesses can also create their virtual presence within TVR by setting up virtual booths, hosting virtual workshops or presentations, and networking.
Conclusion
The Metaverse may seem like a far-off possibility, but it’s already being effectively used by leading companies from all over the world. It may seem daunting, but there are several innovative companies that offer solutions to make the transition to collaborating in the Metaverse as smooth and simple as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does collaboration in the Metaverse differ from traditional collaboration methods?
In the Metaverse, collaboration is immersive, interactive, and spatially designed, allowing users to work and interact in virtual spaces using avatars. It transcends physical boundaries, enabling global collaboration without the need for physical proximity. It also offers unique tools and features, such as virtual whiteboards, 3D modeling, and real-time co-creation, that can enhance creativity and innovation.
What are the benefits of collaboration in the Metaverse?
The Metaverse enables remote collaboration, allowing people from different locations to collaborate in a shared virtual environment. It can enhance communication and social interaction, fostering a sense of presence and connection among collaborators. It also offers opportunities for monetization, such as virtual marketplaces and economies, allowing creators to earn value from their virtual creations.
What are the challenges of collaboration in the Metaverse?
Technical limitations, such as hardware requirements and internet connectivity, may pose barriers to entry for some users. Security and privacy concerns, including issues related to data privacy, may raise challenges for collaborative activities.
How can collaboration in the Metaverse be inclusive and accessible to all?
Companies must bridge the digital divide by addressing accessibility challenges and providing affordable access to virtual technologies that can help ensure that collaboration in the Metaverse is accessible to everyone in their business or customer base.