The metaverse does not yet exist, however business leaders feel the pressure of missing out. Like many game-changing technologies and trends at this stage the metaverse is subject to critics and sceptics. The metaverse is expected to be at its level of productivity in around ten years. As of today, the definite scope and purpose is vague. Nonetheless it is already rated a three to ten trillion US-Dollar business. The metaverse is more than a game and it more than virtual reality. It is the third wave of the internet. Our physical and virtual world are about to melt. We are expected to find ourselves in a world, where you can literally step into the internet. Digital transformation of any business and influences the competitive advantage of corporates are to expected.
Apart from digital Gucci handbags that users can buy in virtual worlds there is a business-to-business related metaverse. This is called the industrial metaverse in the area of manufacturing industries. The benefits of the industrial metaverse speak for themselves: shorter time-to-market, worldwide integration of experts, immersive digital training and reduced cost through simultaneously cooperative development in real time. Early adopters of the metaverse confirm these benefits and first indicators of reduced cost. Many technological, political, social, legal and economic challenges of the metaverse are unsolved as of today. The metaverse hence is a journey. The journey for Festo Automation Sales is recommended to start with an explorative one-year-roadmap with several virtual reality use cases jointly with the customer and to prepare the digital twin infrastructure. Besides it is crucial to establish and position strategic partnerships with the main builder of the metaverse, to fix a dedicated budget and to invest right now in digital competencies and technologies such as AI. The future and the journey to the metaverse starts now. The first step is for corporates collecting first hand experiences.