The new: what is metaverso, why will your way of working, your contacts and the business world change

At the beginning of September, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO from Facebook, announced emotion.

In this way, perhaps unintentionally, he unveiled before thousands of people part of the concept of "metaverso", a term that will begin to be part of the usual vocabulary of the planet's companies.But what is it?Basically, a great virtual world in which people can enter, improve, create or transform shared spaces, through avatars that represent them.

Zuckerberg himself provided a brief screenshot in August, during the presentation of Horizon Workwooms, an app that, through the virtual hull Oculus Quest 2, allows to use virtual offices and participate in labor meetings."In the future, working together will be one of the main uses of metoverso," says Facebook creator.

Metaverso also allows users to interact with each other through their avatars, which obtained great popularity thanks to gaming, an industry that prepares with everything to step hard in this market.Within the mass games, they even transformed into a new form of expression by allowing their appearance, clothing, gestures and, in some cases, to the voice.

A business for all

Metaverso is not reduced to Home Office: it will also allow you to go to a cinema, have coffee with acquaintances, meet museums or even go to a concert, but 100% virtually.

In August, pop singer Ariana Grande took advantage of this new concept and created a shared experience: a recital in the Fortnite universe, one of the most popular video games.Their Minecraft and Roblox rivals also work to take advantage of these interactions.

At the local level, Celebrity Romina Malaspina will be the DJ of the first album in a metaverso made in Dentcentrand, a blockchain that offers virtual worlds and was created by Argentinos.

In the case of video games, the equation is simple: the greater the amount of innovations, consumers (mostly, teenagers) will spend more time in these virtual worlds and create a great window for brands.

Before the question of whether metaverso will open new business opportunities to companies of all kinds, the answer is a resounding "yes".Martín Sciarrillo, director of Microsoft Argentina, reveals to Iproup: "With this new paradigm we are living a great convergence and disruption of new technologies", which they offer through their Azure platform, among which they stand out:

Sciarrillo adds that "it will be more and more common to develop immersive strategies and implementations that allow us to anticipate, build digital models that give a successful and precise response about the viability of a project before advancing it, for example".

"The opportunities are as diverse as the number of industries that can be favored: from rehearsing care protocols to return to the office and estimate its effectiveness; create a new work plant and analyze which resources and times will have to build it; to design new cities andprovide infrastructure investment, "he highlights.

Regarding labor issues, the Microsoft Executive points out that "opens a new universe of interaction with others".And Mesh stands out, a mixed firm reality platform that enables "people in different physical locations to join collaborative and shared holographic experiences on different devices".

"Specifically, the main benefit has to do with productivity improvements, anticipation of results and cost savings.But, it also opens enormous opportunities for care and interaction between collaborators in time for hybrid work, "he adds.

Juanma Linares, Strategy Director of R/GA Buenos Aires, assures Iproup: "Metaverso is the natural evolution of the Internet, which consists of different 'worlds' interconnected with a certain level of immersion that offer new forms of interaction between people, companies andArtificial intelligences.They reduce the distance between the physical and the virtual, in some cases, integrating it ".

"The opportunities are unlimited, but they will be very marked by the ability of each company to understand the best way to be in metaverso based on their business, understanding the needs of people and the new behaviors that enable these opportunities," he emphasizes.

Matías Benz, Marketing Manager of Asus Argentina, joins the talk with Iproup and highlights that it is "an immersive virtual reality, which offers an experience with characteristics of the physical world, brings with it business opportunities and ways in which theBrands we can interact with our audience ".

"For the advancement of technology, we have to constantly adapt our strategy to user behavior.Social networks, video games are two examples: we begin to look for customers in the places where they choose to be, offering our products and services on platforms that involve new processes and strategies, "he says.

According to Benz, "many games became scenarios where, for example, recitals or entertainment events occur.Metaverso, understood as a place where people are virtually to work, play or socialize opens a world of possibilities for companies, "he emphasizes.

Jonatan Cisterna, founder and general director of the Game Season.

"Companies such as Sony, Epic, Nvidia and Microsoft are already talking about the large number of things that could be done in metavers.At the local level, it will be a tremendous opportunity to show and generate a new marketing concept.It will allow actions or activations to be carried out without so much investment and with the same experience to the user.Without a doubt, it will be interesting ", complete.

In Argentina

When asking if Argentine companies are prepared to take advantage of metaverso, Sciarillo also responds affirmatively: "The first thing is the curiosity to innovate.In this sense, there are several local companies, of different sizes, which are interested and making their first consultations to develop digital twins ".

According to the Executive, "this new platform allows to create a digital representation of objects, places, business processes and real people, obtain information to improve products, optimize operations and costs based on data taken from the real world".

"The possibilities are unlimited: from a production line that reduces its carbon emission; a manufacturing process that adjusts from a new ingredient; to a city that simulates proposals on population growth scenarios to guarantee the energy supply.The future is much closer than we think and is applicable in the short term ", complete.

According to Linares, "for some companies the key will be to generate new ways to relate to their audiences, reduce friction for the acquisition of their products or services or new".

While, he adds, "for others he will be part of the infrastructure necessary to meet current needs and others that we can still imagine.The challenge will not be so much to be the first or the greatest, but in the most adapted ".

According to the Executive, "Projects such as 'VR Power Trainer', the virtual training ecosystem developed for the Powerchair Football Argentina Foundation, demonstrates what our teams can do in the field of immersion and the 3D virtual worlds".

Cisterna, meanwhile, warns that "we must expect how each of the innovations will emerge, because this is only the beginning of something that can be very great".

"We have already seen it in movies.We will have to analyze how productive it can be for everyday life.But the level of opportunities in terms of marketing, advertising and development investment, and generation of activations, content and experiences is very large, "he adds.

In the same way, Benz Remarca that they have "with Rog Citadel XV, an immersive virtual experience that has the look and feel of a video game.Users enter an interactive space where they come into contact with the latest products we offer, not only those in stock at a branch ".

The Executive reveals that "we do not just show them, as we could do on a traditional website, but that the experience introduces the player in the characters and stories of a new visual universe".

"Omni, a fun robot, guides the user through four thematic demonstration rooms to provide a close and personal look of our most recent products.Then, a shooting field is unlocked to test your aim and reflexes in several mini -games, "he says.

In this way, "a person does not choose within the options available in the store at that time, but can find the product you truly want and, in addition, try it in a way that the traditional online store does not offer," he adds.

Win in dollars with the "Changas 4.0 ": Look at the top platforms they pay for a few minutes tasks

"With the arrival of metaverso, the possibilities to optimize this experience grow," concludes the expert, confirming that the future of work and commerce will change forever.