70% of businesses plan to integrate metaverse in co activities, says PwC India

Almost 70 percent of business executives in India plan to integrate the metaverse into their organisational activities, said a report by PwC India.

Though the term metaverse spans a wide spectrum of definitions, it mainly denotes a digital environment with a virtual world that mimics reality through the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), low/no-code platforms, and blockchain.

Additionally, 63 percent of companies that are actively engaged with the metaverse say they will fully embed the metaverse in their organisational activities within a year, said the report titled 'Our Take – Embracing the Metaverse'.

More than 60 percent of the business leaders surveyed affirmed that they have a detailed or good understanding of the metaverse.

The survey conducted early this year asked respondents – nearly 150 in number – across different regions of India for their title/role, age group, their gender, the sector their company represented, and their company turnover, PwC India said.

"The metaverse opportunity is enormous and we expect exponential growth because it is relevant across genders, geographies, and generations. Consumers are open to adopting new technologies and companies are investing heavily in the required infrastructure to leverage the metaverse," said Ashootosh Chand, Partner – Digital and Emerging Technologies, PwC India.

The report further said globally, businesses have started exploring partnerships with some of the leading players in the metaverse to explore business opportunities.

However, the metaverse ecosystem in India is still at a nascent stage.

"25 percent of India respondents say that their metaverse plans will be fully embedded in their activities within a year, while 47 percent say that this will take place in 2–3 years," it said.

Sudipta Ghosh, Partner and Leader – Data & Analytics, PwC India said, "Metaverse allows organisations to be really innovative about how they can meaningfully engage with the customers, employees and the broader ecosystem.

As per the report, 36 percent of those surveyed said cybersecurity poses the biggest risk for businesses in India and 28 percent respondents felt the technological limitations could pose a challenge.

In the US as well, cybersecurity tops the list, followed by privacy risks, which is the third-most important risk area for India respondents.