Early metaverse adopters see 15% CapEx saving, study finds

Companies that have already deployed industrial metaverse technologies are seeing more benefits than those still in the planning phase, according to a recent study by Nokia and EY.

The study, The metaverse at work, surveyed 860 business leaders across the UK, US, Brazil, Germany, Japan and South Korea to gain insight into the current state of the enterprise and industrial metaverses.

Businesses particularly noted improvement in capital expenditure reduction (15%), sustainability (10%) and safety improvement (9%). Additionally, only 2% of respondents see the metaverse as a buzzword or a fad, while 58% of companies with metaverse plans have already deployed or piloted at least one metaverse-related use case.

And the Metaverse is proving popular. Nearly all (94%) of those who have yet to begin their metaverse journey plan to do so in the next two years.

According to the study, it suggested that the industrial metaverse is creating substantial business value. On average, 80% of firms who have already implemented metaverse use cases said they will have a significant or transformational impact on the way they do business.

Nearly all (96%) respondents said that by mixing physical and virtual use cases, the metaverse brings additional innovative capabilities that will allow them to accelerate the deployment, adoption and monetisation of Industry 4.0 for their business.

In terms of geography, the US (65%), UK (64%) and Brazil (63%) are currently leading the way when it comes to having deployed or piloted at least one industrial or enterprise metaverse use case.

The average in Germany was 53% while Asia Pacific is less advanced (Japan, 49%; South Korea, 49%).

Enterprises said ‘training to onboard and upskill the workforce’ was the use case most expected to deliver transformative value, while three out of the four industries surveyed chose the use of virtual R&D to enhance product design and processes.

However when deploying metaverse use cases companies flagged the need for sufficient infrastructure and robust analytical capabilities.

Respondents placed highest importance on the key technical enablers that are truly foundational to meeting the demands of such use cases – cloud computing (72%), AI/ML (70%) and network connectivity (68-70%).

Given the need for further technical expertise in house, “at this stage enterprises are relying on a range of partners to close capability gaps and deploy use cases,” the study said.

Vincent Douin, executive director, Business Consulting and Business Transformation, EY LLP, stated: “The industrial and enterprise metaverses are here.

“We are already seeing many organisations going above and beyond the planning stages and recognising tangible benefits from their initial implementations.”

This month, Apple has revealed its first mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, stepping into a ring where Meta, Pico and Magic Leap are already contenders.

BT Group has also launched a new immersive spaces offering in an effort to bring alive virtual and augmented reality experiences for education and enterprises.