The Accenture study clearly shows where companies are heading: the metaverse, with its broad spectrum of digitally expanded worlds, realities and business models, is bringing the next big wave of digital change.
Over the past 12 months, Accenture has identified a special class of companies, the so-called "leapfroggers", who have quickly started to implement digital strategies to cope with the Covid pandemic.
Michael Werder, Managing Director in the Technology Strategy & Advisory division at Accenture Switzerland, says: "The Covid-19 pandemic has clearly shown how important digitalisation is for companies. Companies that focussed on digital strategies and adapted to customer needs during this time were able to outperform their competitors by a factor of four to five. Incorporating the metaverse into these strategies opens up new ways for companies to interact with their customers, partners and employees."
Accentures Technology Vision 2022 has identified four trends in the metaverse continuum that will become increasingly important for companies in the coming years.
Trend 1: WebMe - The "Me" in the metaverse
The emergence of the metaverse is challenging companies to rethink their online presence. While 71% of executives worldwide believe that the metaverse will have a positive impact on their organisation, only 41% of Swiss executives (DACH: 31%) agree with this statement. On the consumer side, 71% in the DACH region have either never heard of the metaverse or do not know what the term means. However, people use the building blocks of the metaverse more often than they think. In the DACH region, 57% of consumers (globally: 55%) currently use cryptocurrencies or plan to use or invest in them.
Trend 2: Programmable world - our personalised planet
In the programmable world, technology is being woven into our physical environment in ever more sophisticated ways. It shows how the convergence of 5G, ambient computing, augmented reality, smart materials and more is paving the way for companies to reshape how they interact with the physical world.
97% of Swiss executives (79% worldwide) believe that programming the physical environment will prove to be a competitive advantage in their industry.
Trend 3: The Unreal - Creating authentic artifice
Artificial intelligence (AI) and even the data that organisations want to integrate into business-critical functions have increasingly 'unreal' qualities about them. At the same time, people are confronted with malicious actors using this technology - from deepfakes to bots and more. This is fuelling a growing concern that could become the biggest hurdle for companies looking to expand their use of AI.
98% of Swiss executives (global: 79%) state that their organisation relies on AI technologies to function effectively. In addition, 100% of executives in Switzerland (global: 95%) agree that AI is increasingly permeating their organisation's business processes.
Trend 4: Calculating the impossible - new machines, new possibilities
The boundaries of what is computationally feasible are increasingly being broken by the emergence of a new class of machines. Quantum computers, biologically inspired computers and high-performance computers are enabling companies to tackle major challenges.
As problems once thought impossible become easier to solve, executives will be forced to rethink some of the most fundamental assumptions about their organisations. 87% of Swiss executives (global: 95%) agree that the long-term success of their organisation depends on the next generation of computers.
This new form of data processing is also the key to long-term success in the area of sustainability. In Switzerland, 90% of managers believe that the new computers will be crucial to achieving their companies' sustainability goals.
According to Marc Zollinger, Head of Technology at Accenture Switzerland, the topic of the metaverse is also relevant for Switzerland. "Although the metaverse is not yet firmly anchored in the minds of Swiss companies and customers, it already plays an important role, for example in the form of the crypto industry, which is of great importance for Switzerland. It is now essential for managers to recognise the opportunities of the metaverse and prepare their company for it. This is the only way they can participate in this development and benefit from it in the long term."
Source: moneycab
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