Description
As businesses embrace the metaverse around the world, nearly 70% of business leaders in India plan to embed the metaverse into their organizational activities, according to PwC India's report titled "Our View: Embracing the Metaverse." Additionally, 63% of companies that are active in the Metaverse say they will fully integrate the Metaverse into their organizational activities within a year. (Explanation: What is Metaverse and how will it benefit from 5G in India?) Ashootosh Chand, partner in digital and emerging technologies at PwC India, said: “The metaverse opportunity is huge and we expect exponential growth as it is relevant to all genders, geographies and generations. Consumers are open to adopting new technologies, and companies are investing heavily in the infrastructure needed to take advantage of the metaverse. We are already seeing brands experimenting with the metaverse to delight their customers. Explaining how much of the success of the metaverse will depend on the effective use of data, Sudipta Ghosh, partner and lead data and analytics at PwC India, said: "The metaverse enables organizations to be truly innovative in the way they can meaningfully engage with customers, employees, and the broader ecosystem. There is ample evidence that the "hype" is being replaced by a greater appreciation of delivering tangible business results as the technology matures."
Understanding of the Metaverse: More than 60% of business leaders surveyed by PwC India said they had a good or detailed understanding of the Metaverse. Of the companies surveyed, 22% represent Telecom, Media & Technology (TMT), 19% FS, 16% Pharma & Health, 15% Retail & Consumer, 12% Industrial, 9% Government and 7% from automotive and educational technology. 79% of people working in the TMT industry say they have a detailed or good understanding of the field.
Integrating Metaverse into Businesses: Globally, companies have begun exploring partnerships with some of the major Metaverse players to explore business opportunities. However, the metaverse ecosystem in India is still in its infancy. 25% of Indian respondents say their metaverse plans will be fully integrated into their business within a year, while 47% say it will happen in 2-3 years.
Create new opportunities: At least 39% of Indian respondents say the metaverse will be a social platform for their business. Nearly 20% believe it will revolutionize business, creating a creative mega-economy. 9% think it is the next incarnation of the Internet. However, some are still undecided: 24% aren't sure what they think about the ramifications of the metaverse.
Leverage the metaverse: In India, companies are more likely to create virtual content that customers can interact with in the metaverse (17%). 13% said they would like to offer onboarding and training through Metaverse and 11% would like to use Metaverse to build communities.
Concerns and risks: 36% of respondents said that cybersecurity represents the biggest risk for businesses in India. 28% of respondents considered that technological limitations could represent a challenge.
Also in the United States, cybersecurity tops the list, followed by privacy risk, which is the third most important area of risk for Indian respondents.
