In February, PwC released a 17-page report titled "2023 Metaverse Outlook," which may have attracted a lot of media coverage, excerpts, reposts, and comments due to its somewhat "exciting" content.
In fact, since 2022, PwC has published many "research and insights" on the metaverse on its official website. Its perspectives form a unique perspective on the "cognitive" metaverse.
We attempt to explore how PwC perceives the metaverse and what they are proposing by examining their numerous articles on the topic.
Metaverse Outlook: Companies will compete for new skills that were not previously required.
In its latest report, PwC summarized its six insights on the metaverse, which are as follows:
Business operators will become super users of the metaverse.
The success of the metaverse depends on credibility.
AI and augmented reality will work together to promote the transformation of the metaverse.
The metaverse will become a must-have for every manager.
The metaverse will become a force for good.
Companies will compete for new skills that were not previously required.
The sixth point is particularly interesting. It suggests that the metaverse will bring about new skills, leading to the emergence of new professions and job positions. For example, the internet has created many new job positions.
As a content creator, this feeling is tangible and specific, and the impact of the internet on the content industry can be described as "terrifying," such as the decline of traditional media and the rise of self-media. This is almost the huge change brought about by the internet, especially mobile internet. Today, the vast majority of companies have positions for new media operations, and the "operational editor" team is incredibly large.
By comparison, the impact of the new profession of anchor is equally astonishing. What new professions will the metaverse bring? The first thing that comes to mind is 3D modelers and 3D artists, who are the architects of the virtual world of the metaverse. Of course, more technically focused data scientists, data analysts, and security personnel may also be in demand. There is also a position that will have a lot of imaginative space, the "middleman" behind the virtual people of the metaverse, who will be the true operators behind the IP of the metaverse.
Of the six insights above, the second point, "The success of the metaverse depends on credibility," is particularly confusing at first glance. Its meaning is actually that the current challenges of data security and privacy protection largely hinder companies from entering the metaverse.
You may be confused, as these issues are not unique to the metaverse, and exist in the internet as well. The reason why PwC has put forward this conclusion is closely related to its definition of the metaverse. In its metaverse worldview, Web3 is a core component. Data security, privacy, and other related issues in Web3 are often closely related to assets, and security issues are actually "asset issues."
Does the real metaverse build on Web3?
Maybe because PwC is both an asset management platform and an accounting firm, they have a better understanding and recognition of Web3, which involves digital assets.
In the report, PwC divides the metaverse into two types: "private" and "open". Simplistically, the private metaverse is the current concept of the metaverse, while the open metaverse, which incorporates Web3 and blockchain technology as its foundation, creates a digital economy centered around digital assets.
The differences between the open and private metaverse are evident from their literal meanings. The former emphasizes openness, user ownership, and more.
What are the characteristics of the open metaverse? Based on PwC's content, they can be summarized as follows:
Interoperability: Emphasizing user access and use of different platform services based on Web3 infrastructure.
Economy: Providing "value exchange" for the metaverse through cryptocurrency, NFT, and other blockchain-based digital assets.
Sustainability: The metaverse provides real-time feedback to participants, and it is sustainable and undisturbed.
Experience: Immersive 3D world.
Identity: Digital identity belongs to the user, and it is the core of data in the metaverse.
Governance: User participation in rule-making.
Interestingly, this institution currently provides services such as digital asset management, custody, hidden value services such as NFT strategy and monetization, as well as audit and verification, taxation, and legal regulatory services.
It is evident that they have deeply involved themselves in the Web3 field and are engaged in related business activities. It seems that they are selling Web3's medicine by exploring the metaverse.
Is Web2's entry into Web3 led by enterprise 2B services?
PwC's series of content appears to be promoting the "metaverse," but the focus is actually on Web3. The reason behind this may be that Web3 has already formed a more definite business model and is currently a hot spot in the global startup landscape.
This is not just the view of PwC, as many companies worldwide have also recognized the opportunities in this field. Among them, cloud service providers are particularly aggressive.
According to media reports, during its 2023 Asia-Pacific Partner Leadership Summit, Huawei Cloud led the launch of the Metaverse & Web3.0 Alliance and introduced several partners in the Web3 field, including BlockChain Solutions, Deepbrain Chain, Polygon, and Morpheus Labs. Public chain projects were also on the list.
The day before, Tencent announced its Web3 partners at a Web3-themed summit and unveiled a roadmap for the development of a complete set of blockchain API services, as well as a new "Tencent Cloud Metaverse-in-a-Box" product.
In addition, Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services, and others are also involved. As Web3 startups continue to heat up, Web2 enterprises may not enter the market with products targeting ordinary C-end users, but rather focus on B-end business, which is their strong suit.
Davin
Beincrypto
Coindesk
Cointelegraph
Cdixon