A new report from the data and analytics company GlobalData suggests that the metaverse, a virtual world where users share experiences and interact in real-time within simulated scenarios, faces an uphill path in the next few years as limited use cases will hamper its adoption.
GlobalData’s latest report, “Metaverse – Thematic Intelligence”, argues that the metaverse market will continue to struggle with several problems, including limited understanding of the idea, unimpressed consumers, the postponement of metaverse projects by Big Tech, and concerns with privacy and security.
Even so, the sector will see significant growth from about $48 billion in 2022 to $400 billion by 2030, the report predicted.
“The metaverse has struggled to live up to the excessive hype that built up in 2021 and early 2022,” Rupantar Guha, principal analyst at GlobalData’s Thematic Intelligence team, said. “The theme has lost its luster due to limited use cases and the limitations of underlying technologies like blockchain, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and digital twins. Without improvements in these technologies, the metaverse will continue to disappoint.”
The report argues that technology companies must develop user interfaces that are easily accessible, synchronize real and virtual environments, and provide safety and comfort during prolonged use. Platform providers must offer a range of content that users want to experience repeatedly. Those that stick to one content type will limit their revenue opportunities in the long run.
“The metaverse hype is primarily focused on consumer use cases, but solutions like data visualization, collaboration, and training will fuel the enterprise metaverse,” Guha concludes. “Despite skepticism around its long-term benefits, focusing on the future of work will boost adoption by large enterprises in the next five years.”
