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Data Sharing in the Metaverse

Regardless of the size of your organization, the industry sector you operate in, or even the technical expertise of your employees, data sharing will undoubtedly play a key role within your business. 

Data sharing is vital to facilitate and streamline communication between different departments within an organization. However, the most digitally savvy business leaders also see data sharing as a great avenue for fostering external collaborations as well.

One of the most interesting and heavily discussed avenues for collaborative data sharing is the metaverse. Estimated to be a potential $800 billion market by 2024, the metaverse is rapidly attracting attention from a wide range of executives from virtually every major industry. 

Over the course of this article, we will explain what exactly the metaverse is and highlight why, despite the potential, there remains a degree of uncertainty over infrastructure and data privacy.

What is the Metaverse?

When most people hear the term ‘metaverse’, Facebook and the company’s much-publicized rebranding to ‘Meta’ is typically the first thing that comes to mind. 

The metaverse is a term used to describe a combination of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) experiences that are ultimately intended to be accessed via smart headsets. 

The technology behind the metaverse has seen a stream of companies, including fashion brand Ralph Lauren, interested in the concept. It might come as a surprise to reveal then that despite the potential, there is no single unified metaverse like there is with the internet we use today. 

The metaverse, therefore, is very similar to the early stages of the world wide web before the creation of search engines that helped to connect isolated websites to each other. You can think of the metaverse today as similar to that of a biodome – i.e. a self-contained ecosystem designed to support a particular environment, experience and community. However, unlike the internet we have all grown accustomed to, each corporations metaverse is typically not connected to one another.

For example, the popular video game Fortnite could be considered a metaverse due to its virtual currency and its advertising ecosystem, yet, Fortnite’s metaverse is a biodome, isolated from other metaverse experiences. 

Due to its infancy and non-unified nature, the metaverse is also fertile ground for data analysts and chief information officers looking to enhance their business.   

Concerns about data privacy

Due to the biodome-like structure of the metaverse and the fact that there is no significant government regulation in place, there are significant concerns with data privacy within the metaverse. 

Unfortunately, concerns surrounding data privacy are not limited to the metaverse, and have been an unfortunate byproduct of the internet. As with all technology, the security and safety of the metaverse will undoubtedly be improved over time, yet at present there remains more questions than answers regarding data privacy.

Making data sharing in the metaverse a possibility

While the metaverse has a lot of potential as an eventual replacement for Web 2.0, it’s clear that the concept is not yet perfect. 

In order for your company to begin to use the metaverse as a data-sharing tool, there are a few steps that your business must first take. Additionally, there are also a number of external changes that need to take place across the metaverse before it can become a recommended data-sharing platform. We’ve broken down these changes into a three-step guide below:

Internal changes: what you can do

  • Step 1: Promote a culture of internal data sharing
    • Before beginning to embrace the metaverse, you must first nurture a culture of data sharing. A data-sharing culture can be fostered through upskilling your workforce and in particular, creating educational data literacy programs.

      Regardless of your business’ industry, cloud analytics solutions such as Astrato can help your employees to embrace and accelerate data sharing across teams and departments.

 

  • Step 2: Define what the metaverse is to your business
    • As the metaverse is an esoteric concept at this point rather than a fully realized platform, there has never been a better time to define what the metaverse means for your business.

      Similarly to the internet, there is no singular company that will be responsible for the metaverse in its entirety. As a result, you have the power as a business leader to not only brief your team on what the metaverse is as a concept, but also on how you can reshape and define it as a concept. 

 

  • Step 3: Reinforce the traditional values of data security
    • With the metaverse being a new technology, the government has yet to catch up to implement data security protocols such as those online today. As such, it would be prudent to reinforce the traditional values and ethics over data security with your staff to ensure that they employ best practices when handling data.

 

External changes: what needs to be done

  • Step 1: Foster communication with other businesses 
    • As highlighted in ‘Step 2’ above, the metaverse is currently an esoteric concept that has few tangible examples to showcase. However, rather than waiting for the technology to ‘figure itself out’, as a forward-thinking organization, you can help to advance the metaverse and shape how the metaverse will look.

      Use your platform to inform and educate other business leaders today, and offer your insight where possible to help define what the metaverse will become tomorrow.

 

  • Step 2: Lower the barriers to entry
    • At present, the only way to experience the metaverse as it was intended is through the use of an AR or VR-enabled headset. While headsets are publicly available, their use cases have been primarily limited to gaming and entertainment purposes. As a result of their niche appeal, there are very few competent headsets on the market today, and the price for these products remains cost prohibitive for most businesses to consider.

      If the metaverse is to succeed and we are able to use Web 3.0 as it was intended, the cost of entry must be lowered so that even the smallest business owners can have a presence.

 

  • Step 3: Regulation is key
    • As evidenced by numerous data breaches over the previous decade, data is a highly valuable commodity and if acquired by those with malicious intentions, could have far-reaching ramifications for personal, financial, and even physical safety.

      While government regulation alone cannot prevent breaches, it can help to ensure that data shared and stored within the metaverse is done so securely.

 

In its current guise, the metaverse might seem like a daunting technology that your business is either not ready for, or worse yet, is seemingly irrelevant to the way in which your organization currently operates. 

However, by using a cloud-enabled business intelligence software, you’ll be able to see the ways in which your business can align with market trends and begin to embrace the metaverse – taking full advantage of the new technology.

If you’re ready to explore how your company can leverage modern trends and Business intelligence tools such as cloud-native analytics, why not try Astrato today?