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We have been talking Metaverse more frequently now, than we were even 6 months back. This is true not only for the tech community but also includes a large section of the populace who have identified the value this collection of technologies brings to them. There are more aspects to the Metaverse than can be logically included in one article. For the purpose of brevity, it is good to cover the aspects that are making news. The technology stack that powers the whole Metaverse ecosystem is one such aspect. Earlier this year, in February, The Data Security Council of India (DSCI) had organized the Metaverse Symposium 2022. The agenda included discussions on the Technology stack that powers the Metaverse, the concept of crypto assets and the risks associated with data breaches and financial frauds.

In this article we look at the core pillars that make the Metaverse a reality.

 

The Buzz is on the trade-off between potential and downside risks

As with any new technology, the widespread adoption and economic value-add of the Metaverse is a function of potential and risks. The thing with Metaverse is that is not science fiction and is seen moving rapidly beyond the hype and buzz. While multiple proto metaverses are emerging, there is an undefined consensus of what the ecosystem looks like. Metaverse is a large playground for consumers, users, and creators, highlighting the massive economic potential.

"Broadly speaking, the Metaverse is an amalgam of disparate entities, inter-connected by the Cloud, Telco (service plus hardware), Networking and Immersive technology enablers (read XR), spanning gateways, centralized and decentralized infrastructure, avatars and digital sovereign identities."

Let us have a closer look:

The Broad Components of the Metaverse
Broad Components of the Metaverse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Immersive: Going by the current trends, the maximum buzz seems to be around the promise of immersive user experience, particularly on the gaming side. In fact, The World Economic Forum surmises that the road to mainstream adoption of the Metaverse runs through transformative user experience. The ubiquitous role of the Cloud is ensuring everything is available and accessible as ‘as-a-service’ models (XaaS). The Metaverse holds tremendous potential for bringing together the physical and digital worlds and build interoperability, or, in other words convergence. It is not just gaming that players and coders/developers are drawn to. Users are flocking to try newer experiences - hosting events such as musical concerts, professional or academic conferences, and even social functions such as marriages on the Metaverse.
  2. The Creator Economy: Earlier, in the era of Web 2.0, webpages, applications and engagement platforms were built for consumption and use. However, the growth of Web 3.0 is helping users and companies to pivot to more collaborative engagement models with higher economic implications. One such example is In-app monetization. There is a large and growing community of creators (as seen on social sites such as LinkedIn, Instagram and the like), and digital natives who engage in virtual spaces using identity systems and are a part of this new economic model. In short, the Metaverse promises a new economy.
  3. Gaming: Over the past two years large and diverse communities (across regions, age-groups, income-levels) have come to be formed, who are geographically dispersed and have joined the Metaverse to play and earn. There is also a growing participation from non-players. Thus, there are both economic as well as non-economic drivers. The Metaverse holds opportunities for game developers who will play an important role within the emerging landscape. The economic value-add of Gaming is potentially large for a country like India. Going forward, it is expected that a lot of thought-leadership will come from the sector. More people, both users and creators/contributors, joining the gaming marketplace will act as a catalyst for major investments in gaming economies and related enablers (AR/VR).

Implications for India:

Close to US$1bn (Rs. 6,800 crores) was added to the Indian economy in 2020 and 683K full-time equivalent jobs were created by ‘Creative Entrepreneurs’ on YouTube, according to a report by Oxford Economics. India is a large market for Technology, and it affords opportunities not only for consumers of tech but also for creators. Proliferation and dissemination of content, coupled with monetization benefits will drive democratization of the Metaverse in India. Independent and disparate units of the Metaverse are already in place, and the technology stacks and the ecosystem are trying to get in to the groove. Enabling factors such as 5G/6G, device independent applications, immersive technologies -  particularly for games, financialization of digital assets, NFTs etc. will ensure larger participation and wider adoption. In the near to mid-term, there is potential in terms of cloud scalability, and virtualization, based on decentralized infrastructure.

The Metaverse is also poised to play an important role across sectors and industries.

    1. Retail & eCommerce: Digital storerooms and shopfronts within the Retail, Apparel and FMCG sectors.
    2. Aerospace & Defense: Augmented experience for battlefield awareness and equipment function. One example is the Heads-up display, also known as HuD used by modern air forces across the world. Helmet-mounted displays provide situational awareness to the combat pilots, also integrating equipment and performance data.
    3. Smart cities: Getting in to metaverse, doing analysis around this, some regulatory deliberations are also undergoing.

However, there remain themes that may play spoilsport if not taken up seriously. The foremost is the aspect of data privacy, cloud security and protection of digital identities. Market players with leverage in products such as Identity & Access Management (IDAM), SASE (Secure Access Edge), SIEM (Security Information and Events) Digital Identities & Certificates based on PKIs (Public Key Infrastructures) will play a key role in making the Metaverse as safe as possible.

 

For bouquets and brickbats, you can reach out to me at bandev@nasscom.in.


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Bandev Ghosh
Senior Manager

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