An increasing number of companies are looking to adopt the metaverse as a key element of their future business plans.

Uncertainty persists, however, about what form the metaverse will take. Employees can expect to see even more digitized, working versions of themselves in various industries and roles, eliminating the need for a formal workplace and physical presence. Innovative tools such as knowledge-management systems based on artificial intelligence will give companies a holistic view of their organizations and the data within them, so that they can work more efficiently and effectively — from anywhere and at any time.

There exists a massive opportunity for organizations to harness data to optimize digital projects. When companies collaborate in a digital world, data can fall through the cracks. Intelligent systems make sure that every piece of relevant information is utilized, to make the experience in the metaverse as accurate and productive as possible. 

An Introduction to the Metaverse

In recent years, AI has given rise to the creation of digital twins — virtual representations of physical organizations and objects. That, essentially, is what the metaverse is: a digital twin of our working world, including virtual office spaces, people, products and more. 

Imagine, for example, interacting virtually with factory workers, machinery and goods inside a plant. There’s no need for travel, zoom calls or physical spreadsheets filled with data.

Digital twins and knowledge-management systems allow managers and workers to understand information in real time. Such tools can be deployed inside the metaverse to extract data from existing sources, filter it and load it straight into the digital working world. 

Analytics on customers, employees, support tickets, purchase orders and other supply chain processes can be automated to present a real-life holistic view of the organization, without the hurdles of manual systems. 

Data Automation Plus the Metaverse

By itself, data automation benefits a company in multiple ways. It eliminates redundant and monotonous tasks often dreaded by employees, freeing up time, cutting costs and optimizing resources. Data automation also helps companies ensure consistency and accuracy across multiple formats and sources, preparing them to make the leap into the metaverse.

A sales rep meeting with a prospective account inside the metaverse will have a holistic view of the customer because all relevant data from e-mail communications, contracts, previous purchases and support tickets will have been properly connected. The result is an unprecedented level of insight into customer preferences.

Data automation, combined with the promise of the metaverse, stands to revolutionize business processes.

Gerald Martinetz is vice president of applied intelligence at Mindbreeze.