The Industrial metaverse doesn’t exist yet but the building blocks are in place – Forrester research report August 2023.

It’s common to hear the metaverse described as a 3D experience layer of the internet. The “industrial metaverse” is a more difficult concept to define. According to Forrester, it’s an umbrella term for a collection of different technologies. Some of those technologies have existed for years just waiting to come together.

Following a previous blog on the topic, Understanding the Industrial Metaverse, in this blog Stephen Graham, executive vice president and general manager, Nexus, takes an introductory look at the four building blocks, highlighting some of the key issues.

Real-Time Collaboration

As much a defining characteristic as a building block, real-time collaboration is a crucial prerequisite to the industrial metaverse. At its core, the metaverse is a communication tool, a way of sharing ideas and data. It enables individuals or teams to work together across physical distances using digital technologies.

When we think of the metaverse we think of cutting-edge virtual reality tools, but often the technology has existed for decades. Microsoft has been in this space since at least 1996 with its NetMeeting software which included desktop and file sharing alongside video conferencing. The evolution of that technology is a vital part of the business environment. Many companies and products are competing in this market with offerings like video conferencing and workplace collaboration software.

From design and engineering to production, quality assurance and beyond, manufacturing is necessarily a collaborative process – there are lots of problems to solve throughout the product lifecycle. That makes it an ideal candidate for new collaborative tools like our own digital reality platform Nexus. In the past it was common to have teams of engineers with different specializations all in the same building, working closely together. In one of our recent blogs we discussed how the process of digitalization has brought huge benefits, but at a cost. That cost has been the fragmentation and separation of once close networks.

The concept of the industrial metaverse and the group of technologies behind it represent a solution turning that problem into a huge opportunity.

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