R. Srikumar is Chief Solutions Officer at: Mufasis.

The concept of the Metaverse, a virtual reality (VR) landscape, has received widespread attention and serious hype in recent years. but, frustration that happens The economic slowdown and industry shift to AI have raised questions about the feasibility and timing of this ambitious concept.

Several challenges hinder the progress of the Metaverse, including lack of an integrated platform, high entry costs, and lack of compelling content. Also, the hardware and computing power needed to realize the full potential of the Metaverse is still in its infancy.

Due to these challenges, Microsoft will shut down its virtual workspace platform, AltSpaceVR, in 2023. led to dismissal And scale down the HoloLens team.disney is Closing down the Metaverse divisionWalmart on the other hand Canceled Roblox-based metaverse project.even the meta reduce We will step up our efforts to actively build the metaverse and shift our focus to AI with plans to step up our pursuit of the metaverse in the future.

Some people think of the metaverse as flawed idea, is plagued by privacy and security concerns, but on the one hand I would argue that it is simply ahead of its time. Combining existing VR and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, the Metaverse still holds immense potential for innovation and the creation of new applications.

continue to invest in future possibilities

Last year saw a boom in the metaverse trend. In 2022 McKinsey reported: Over $120 billion are pouring into the metaverse, and the market is projected to reach a value of up to $5 trillion by 2030. Citi analysts are even more optimistic, predicting the value of the Metaverse economy to be: $8 trillion and $13 trillion by the same year.

By 2026, Gartner will: a quarter of the world’s population Spend at least one hour per day in the Metaverse and engage in a variety of activities such as shopping, working, socializing, and learning. It also predicted that 30% of organizations would develop products or services tailored for the digital realm.

But given the economic challenges facing many real-world households, the idea of ​​investing in expensive VR headsets, real estate, items, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seems out of reach. It may seem Even with the Apple Vision Pro headset, Costs over $3,499 When it’s released, it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of hardware function.

At the moment, the game shows the greatest potential of the cohesive metaverse of any field. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) like “World of Warcraft” and “EverQuest” established the virtual realm over a decade ago, presenting digital assets and clothing with real monetary value. .

A crucial question arises as to whether companies can effectively leverage these basic models to deliver a customer-centric experience for their products and services. The gaming and entertainment industry may thrive within the metaverse targeting specific audiences, but other companies have yet to fully understand the practical application of this virtual realm.

This raises the question of whether the initial hype and promises around the Metaverse were truly ahead of their time.

Build Functional Metaverse Capabilities

The envisioned true metaverse is a device-agnostic digital landscape that is not owned by a single vendor. Such a metaverse would require its own virtual economy fueled by digital currencies and NFTs.

We have the underlying technology to build such a digital landscape, but the computing power required for its smooth operation may still take decades. Additionally, the success of the Metaverse will depend on the cloud infrastructure that hosts these virtual worlds, so enterprises must prioritize their digital transformation and build their cloud infrastructure.

Many companies that benefit from the metaverse will: Digital transformation is underway. They are still searching for the most effective technology solution for their needs. The primary drivers of digital transformation efforts often focus on improving the customer experience, acquiring and retaining customers, and digitally transforming internal processes.

Therefore, our investments in the Metaverse are targeted and carefully aligned to deliver seamless virtual experiences tailored to our customers’ products and services.companies are still experimenting Consider the possibilities of Web3, AR Cloud, and Digital Twin solutions to determine which approach best fits your requirements. By 2027, Gartner will: Over 40% of the world’s largest organizations plans to incorporate a combination of Web3, AR Cloud, and digital twins into its revenue-generating metaverse-based projects.

Cloud adoption in these enterprises is accelerating, but enterprises are still struggling with issues, according to Flexella. They also said that some of them Fast-growing cloud trends Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), used to provision and manage compute, storage, and networking resources, and Platform as a Service (PaaS), used to build and deploy applications. Building infrastructure and platform capabilities using cloud services is essential for innovation and improvement in emerging technologies such as AR/VR.

Because of these trends, we must view the Metaverse as a forward-thinking concept with enormous potential to create transformative experiences and economic opportunities. Technological advances, increased investment, and strategic digital transformation could make the Metaverse a real reality within the next few decades.

Forbes Technology Council is an invite-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Are you eligible?