FICCI Report On Opportunities in Metaverse & Use Cases

Metaverse and Emerging
O p p ortunities
Knowledge Report
Dr. Rajaram Venkataraman,

Convener and Head, FICCI TNSC Technology
Panel & Member, FICCI National Committee
on ICT
Dr. Georgios Pappas,

Lab of Educational Material & Methodology,
Open University of Cyprus
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Metaverse Key Technologies
Metaverse Elements
Differences between Web 3.0 & Metaverse
Evolution of the Metaverse
Metaverse – Key Challenges
Metaverse Market Opportunity
Metaverse use cases
Opportunities for Indian Companies
References
Applied Metaverse - Case Studies 2

Preface
We are delighted to present this report on “Metaverse and

Opportunities” prepared as a supplementary knowledge paper to
the FICCI DT6 International Conference and Exhibition with the
theme “Is building the metaverse – the next big opportunity for
India?” slated for July 1,2022.
We believe that this knowledge paper and applied case studies

covered within, will provide the reader a basic understanding of
the Metaverse and the huge opportunities it bestows. As always,
FICCI TNSC Technology Panel has always been working towards
bringing leading edge technologies, creating awareness in the
community towards leveraging them and thereby driving huge
transformation to the businesses, industry, Govt and Individuals.
Dr.G S K Velu Mr.Bhupesh Dr.Rajaram V

Chairman Co-Chairman Convener/Head,
FICCI TNSC FICCI TNSC FICCI TNSC
Tech Panel
3
Introduction
Gartner expects that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at

least one hour a day in the Metaverse for work, shopping,
education, social media and entertainment. Metaverse is a
trillion dollar opportunity per year around 2030 onwards
while it is a $60billion now in 2022.
What is Metaverse?
Metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social
connections. It is a collective virtual space, created by the
convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality.
It is an independent virtual economy, enabled by digital
currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It is device
independent and is largely democratized and not owned by a
single vendor. In futurism and science fiction, Metaverse is
described as a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a
single, universal virtual world that is facilitated by the use of
virtual and augmented reality headsets.
4
Introduction
Startups and Innovators from established organizations

always work on identifying new technologies that can create
a new customer experience, transform existing businesses or
mitigate risks. The Metaverse is one such technology that can
provide a transformatory impact to our personal and
professional lives and that can be very immersive.
“Metaverse will allow people to enhance or mimic their

physical activities in the virtual space. This could mean
transforming the existing physical activities that one is doing
or by transporting to a new virtual world. Today, in the early
stages of evolution, Metaverses are having independent
existences with each having a functionality of its own. With
this concept evolving, we will see large Metaverses
encompassing all the activities with broad functionality,”
5
Introduction
It’s a virtual world
It’s Facebook’s name
It’s linked to Web 3.0
It’s a crypto
It’s a new Google
All the above
I don’t know
The above are the various Metaverse definitions that came out of
a survey conducted across 200+ organizations who have already
invested in the Metaverse. This survey happened during Feb-
mar 2022. This shows that Metaverse has various dimensions
and based on what people get exposed to, each of them portray
it differently.
6
Introduction
So, the Metaverse is going to be the new future and will bring
a lot of opportunities for Indian companies to build games,
apps, AR/VR based learning kits, simulations and what not….
Organizations have started using the Metaverse for
onboarding new hires in a virtual campus environment.
CXO’s have started thinking about how much (if any) money
to allocate to building out Metaverse projects.
In conclusion, the Metaverse is a 3D world where you can

interact with 3D friends, objects, places. Hence, to bring focus
on this opportunity and to ensure that we sensitize people on
the skill sets, tools as well as monetization opportunities
globally that may arise, FICCI has coined the theme of the
Metaverse conference as “Is building the Metaverse - the next
big opportunity for India?”
7
Although Metaverse is considered as a single virtual space, it

is actually the fusion of many technologies. So, the
Metaverse is composed of many core elements that are
combined together to provide a whole new world to the
users. These technologies include eXtended Reality (XR),
Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things
but are not limited to them.
8
Metaverse and its key technologies
9
eXtended Reality & Virtual Environments
We identify eXtended Reality (XR) as the superset that covers

Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Virtual Reality. Virtual
Environments are considered as synthetic or computer-
based spaces including games or gamified worlds.
Main Difference between Augmented and Virtual Reality
In Augmented Reality (AR), users can visualize synthetic

content (e.g. 3D models) as overlays to the physical world. In
Virtual Reality (VR), users are completely isolated from the
real world and visualize only computer-based environments.
10
eXtended Reality & Virtual Environments
eXtended Reality as a superset
Example of an IoT-enabled gamified tool for environmental

education
(Open University of Cyprus)
11
Blockchain, NFTs, Cryptocurrencies
Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger for recording

transactions, tracking assets and building trust. An asset can
be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or intangible (intellectual
property, patents, copyrights, branding). Virtually anything of
value can be tracked and traded on a blockchain network,
reducing risk and cutting costs for all involved.
What is NFT?
A non-fungible token (NFT) uses the technology of
blockchain to create something that is unique in the digital
world. The meaning of fungible describes items that are the
exact equal value and interchangeable with each other for
example, One Dollar is the same as One dollar.
So Non-fungible more or less means that it’s unique and can’t
be replaced with something else. Something like a one-of-a-
kind trading card or this painting that I painted is considered
non-fungible.
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Blockchain, NFTs, Cryptocurrencies
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, crypto, or coin is a

digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange
through a computer network that is not reliant on any central
authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or
maintain it.
Individual coin ownership records are stored in a digital

ledger, which is a computerized database using strong
cryptography to secure transaction
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Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the ability of a digital computer or

computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly
associated with intelligent beings. (Britannica.com)
Artificial Intelligence (source: Pixabay)
14
The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) [1] is a network of people,

devices, and services [2] that can sense, connect to one
another, make inferences, and act(uate) at scale [3, 4]. It is
considered that over 30 billion IoT devices are already
deployed globally today. [5]
The Internet of Things (source: Pixabay)
15
Metaverse Elements
Elements of the Metaverse (source: Blockchain Council)
16
Differences between
Web 3.0 & Metaverse
While Web 3.0 is the next level of a decentralized, permission

less and secure web, Metaverse is described as a hypothetical
iteration of the Internet as a single, universal virtual world
that is facilitated by the use of virtual and augmented reality
headsets.
17
Differences between
Web 3.0 & Metaverse
Differences between Web 3.0 & Metaverse

(source: Blockchain Council)
18
Evolution of the Metaverse
The term “Metaverse” first appeared in Neal Stephenson’s

1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash, a book that would later
influence the likes of Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin and Mark
Zuckerberg in their quest to build linkages between the
virtual and physical worlds. The roots of the Metaverse extend
even farther back into the 20th century. Devices and
concepts premised on virtual reality and a hazy vision of the
future internet laid the groundwork for a World Wide Web
that today plays host to parallel worlds where millions of
people around the world socialize; create, buy and sell assets;
work; and learn together.
The Metaverse has traditionally been the domain of private

enterprises, like game developers and Internet companies,
which built a patchwork of virtual worlds like Fortnite, There
and Facebook Horizon, that, while rich, lacked
interconnectivity. Today, though, a new type of Metaverse has
begun to take shape to take on these corporate players
which is more democratized.
19
Some of the common cyber security challenges in

Metaverse (both forms of Metaverse AR and VR) include:
Moderation challenges: No help or support access exists in

most of the Metaverses. NFT thefts have become common
without any quick remedy.
Identity: Metaverse users' identities can be spoofed, their

accounts can get hacked and their avatars can be taken over.
A common challenge is the identity of the person Metaverse
users are dealing with is always questionable.
Client vulnerabilities: VR and AR headsets are heavy-duty

machines with a lot of software and memory. They are also
ripe targets for malicious and inadvertent hacks. Perpetrators
are easily taking over users' identities and cause havoc after
entering the Metaverse.
20
User-to-user communications: Because the Metaverse

experience is all about facilitating user-to-user
communications, trust and commerce are how these
relationships are built. One bad actor can cause tremendous
damage. The need for moderation at scale is critical and must
be addressed.
Data accuracy: Location, merchandise quality, reviews, user

information and third-party trusted data are anchored
around accuracy. Ensuring accuracy can be difficult.
Privacy. No Metaverse regulations exist, and the need for
data collection for a truly personalized immersive experience
requires privacy invasion.
21
Global market revenue growth is driven by key factors such

as rising focus on convergence of digital and physical worlds,
increasing demand for products based on AR, VR and Mixed
reality technologies. Concept of virtual economy, NFTs,
Gaming and Entertainment are driving the market
opportunity for Metaverse. Metaverse revenue is expected to
see a 42% CAGR over the next 8 to 9 years and cross the
$1trillion per year mark by 2030.
22
Metaverse market revenue worldwide from 2021 to 2030

(source: Statista)
23
Key questions to ponder
Ready or not, the Metaverse is going to change the world as

we know it over the coming decade. Technology and
Communications companies are quickly pivoting their
businesses to help support and enable the future, a wave of
new vendors are popping up to help organizations market
and monetize new products across sprawling virtual worlds,
and live entertainment companies and game developers are
providing successful early use cases for the potential of what
the Metaverse could be. Amidst it all, almost every brand in
the world is taking a hard look at what the Metaverse will
mean for their business.
 What new opportunities will the Metaverse provide for

brands?
 How much demand is there (and will there be) for digital
goods, virtual meeting spaces, virtual storefronts, and
AR/VR learning experience?
 And how soon will this all be adapted at scale across the
world?
24
Metaverse use cases
A recent Citi report predicts the total addressable market for

the Metaverse could be between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by
2030, with total Metaverse users numbering around five
billion. This means it has wide usage in B2B as well as B2C
segment.
On the B2B segment, some of the use cases include:

 transformation of “Workspace collaboration” with always
ON conference/meeting rooms for global meetings,
conferences
 Talent acquisition, hiring and onboarding taking a new
dimension in Metaverse
 Digital test run of products and experience different
options
 Learning, education, training, skill development with
avatars (manufacturing, factory setups will get good
leverage with this tech)
 Healthcare (Telemedicine, Therapies, Surgeries)
 Defense (Training, On-boarding, Recuperation, Simulation)
 Real-estate, E-commerce companies can have product
demos, showcase and branding opportunities
 Advertising will move to the next level with a unique kind
of storytelling experience for the audience using 360°
videos and 3D technology.
B2C use cases include

 Gaming and entertainment
 Education, Learning, Skilling
 Travel and Tourism
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Opportunities for Indian
Companies & Individuals
In order to build the Metaverse, develop the infrastructure

and also create a vibrant ecosystem, India will need various
capabilities/skills, various forms of investment, enabling Govt
policies and many more. India will play a big role in the
development of Metaverse not only in India but globally.
Metaverse is a digital / virtual world which is more

democratized and built on a combination of Blockchain,
Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 3D hologram,
and Video which has immense potential, and big brands are
likely to spend billions of dollars to unlock all these infinite
possibilities.
People in India also have started leveraging Metaverse to

conduct weddings, buy real-estate etc. The examples include
the IIT Madras Project manager Dinesh and his wife who got
married in Metaverse due to covid restrictions on the number
of guests that can be present in a physical wedding. Punjabi
singer Daler mehendi has bought “balle balle land” in
Metaverse. Footwear brands like Nike are launching their
virtual sneakers for the Metaverse. Online gaming platforms,
education, digital commerce are other applications from
India.
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Opportunities for Indian
Companies & Individuals
There are going to be a lot of business and money-making

opportunities in the Metaverse for all those companies -
startups and investors.
Whether one is a business owner or a content creator,

developer or an investor, all can take advantage of this
disrupting technology and create successful, innovative and
profitable end-products.
27
References
[1] G. Pappas, J. Siegel, I. N. Vogiatzakis, and K. Politopoulos, “Gamification and the

Internet of Things in Education BT - Handbook on Intelligent Techniques in the
Educational Process: Vol 1 Recent Advances and Case Studies,” M. Ivanović, A.
Klašnja-Milićević, and L. C. Jain, Eds. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022,
pp. 317–339.
[2] J. E. Siegel, S. Kumar, and S. E. Sarma, “The Future Internet of Things: Secure,
Efficient, and Model-Based,” IEEE Internet Things J., vol. PP, no. 99, p. 1, 2017.
[3] S. Tedeschi, J. Mehnen, N. Tapoglou, and R. Roy, “Secure IoT devices for the
maintenance of machine tools,” in Procedia Cirp, 2017, vol. 59, pp. 150–155.
[4] U. S. G. A. Office, “Internet of Things: Enhanced Assessments and Guidance Are
Needed to Address Security Risks in {DOD},” no. GAO-17-668. Jul-2017.
[5] A. Nordrum, “Popular internet of things forecast of 50 billion devices by 2020 is
outdated (2016),” Dosegljivo https//spectrum. ieee. org/tech-
talk/telecom/internet/popular-internet-ofthings-forecast-of-50-billion-devices-by-
2020-is-outdated.[Dostopano 11. 8. 2017], 2017.
[6] Cryptocurrency – Wikipedia
(7) NFT for Beginners. What is NFT? How it works? Why do… | by Tan (8) Ying Ying |
Now Realize | Medium
(8) www.techtarget.com
(9) www.blockchain-council.org
28
ABOUT US
Dr. Rajaram Venkataraman
Dr.Rajaram Venkataraman is a
business technology leader & a
CXO with passion for growth and
innovation powered by
technology. He leads the FICCI
Your photo here Tamil Nadu’s Technology Panel
and also serves as a Member of
the FICCI National Committee
on ICT. He is the author of a US
patent on Systematic Innovation
Farming and has delivered
several keynotes, chaired several international conferences
and has authored several papers in International journals.
He has built a startup ecosystem from greenfield to a
substantive one with more than 250 registered startups
incubated (additional 50+ in pre-incubation). During his
career, he has had direct influence / responsibility for closer
to half a billion dollars of Software Consulting, Services,
Products and Solutions. He is also the “President” of a
knowledge ecosystem called “SPIN Chennai” and is a
certified independent director and serves in the advisory
board of several organizations. He has won several awards
including CEO of the Year twice for his contribution to
innovation and entrepreneurship , Smart City Leader
award, Distinguished Alumni award etc.
He can be reached at [email protected]
29
ABOUT US
Dr. Georg ios Pa p p a s
Georgios Pappas, Ph.D., Ph.D., is

an Electrical & Computer
Engineer graduate from the
National Technical University of
Athens (B.Sc./M.Sc.-Dual Ph.D.)
and Michigan State University
(Dual Ph.D.). He is also an
alumnus from the MIT IoT
Bootcamp (2017) and was an
invited instructor at the MIT
DeepTech Bootcamp (2019).
He is currently working at the Lab of Educational Material
and Methodology of Open University of Cyprus developing
XR and gamification applications for Distance Learning. His
areas of interest include Metaverse Applications,
Gamification, Simulation, and XR and how these
technologies can be used in combination with IoT
implementations and AI.
You can contact him at [email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-pappas-655a55a7/
30
Metaverse and Emerging
O p p ortunities
Applied Metaverse – Case Studies
Krishnan Narayanan
Srinivasan Yagnanarayanan
Jayashankar & Bala A Kumar
Gemini Ramamurthy
Chandrashekar Kupperi
Dr. Georgios Pappas
31
Applied Use cases 1:
Experience-verse: Creating value in the
Metaverse
Krishnan Narayanan and Venkat Ramaswamy
This article has been extracted from an itihaasa Research and Digital working paper
[1].
Digital technologies have had a profound impact on businesses and all walks of life.
In the post-pandemic world, this technology intensive model of creating value for
an enterprise, of “softwarization”, “datafication”, and AI, will continue. Accenture
sees the “Metaverse as a continuum that spans the spectrum of digitally enhanced
worlds, realities and business models. It applies to all aspects of business from
consumer to worker and across the entire enterprise, from reality to virtual and
back, from 2D to 3D, and from cloud to artificial intelligence to extended reality” [2].
McKinsey estimates that by 2030, the value of the Metaverse could reach $5 trillion.
It notes that “the Metaverse is still at an inflection point in its development, just as
the social networks and user-generated content driving the transition to Web 2.0
in 2004 sparked utopian visions of consumer control and the democratization of
the Internet. The direction the Metaverse takes is tied to stakeholders’ collective
actions in the years ahead, and the extent to which their behaviour is influenced by
considerations of its potential societal and environmental impact.”[3]
While technology-intensity is critical, it alone is not sufficient. Based on the research

of Venkat Ramaswamy (www.venkatramaswamy.com), we argue that enterprises
are simultaneously at the cusp of a new value creation revolution – the Experience-
verse (X-verse) [4], and one that entails risk-managed co-creation of valuable
impacts with stakeholding individuals as experiencers.
Experience-verse and the PIEX Ecosystem lens

In the X-verse, value creation is getting de-centred and democratized. Technology
becomes human-centric, even as innovation becomes ecosystem-centric. In order
to unlock new X-verse value, enterprises need to first visualize opportunities and
32
risks through the PIEX Ecosystem lens – Platforms, Impacts, Engagements,
eXperiencers and Ecosystems, and then co-create value with stakeholding
individuals [5].
Fig 1: Risk-managed PIE X-verse Ecosystem Innovation and Value Co-Creation
Value gets created at the moment of interaction or engagement between an

experiencer (such as a customer, employee, partner and so on) and the ecosystem
(interactional entities comprising enterprises and stakeholders across private,
public and plural sectors). The focus goes beyond just activities in a value chain to
the event-sensed flows of engagements. The platform creates a new basis of
efficiency – as costs come down rapidly on one hand, enterprises can create unique
impact on the other. The value created goes beyond just goods and services into
sustainable impacts – we define a new measure of impacts in wellbeing, that
includes the biological, psychological, social, cultural, ecological, and economic
wellbeing of all stakeholders [6].
In order to fully visualise the value-creation opportunities in Metaverse ecosystems,

enterprises should apply the PIEX lens at moments of engagement to unlock
33
greater value. We will examine two distinct Metaverse opportunities – 1) a university
in the Metaverse 2) a brewer in the Metaverse.
A university in the Metaverse

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO at Meta in his Connect 2021 address, talked
about Metaverse as the next evolution of mobile Internet and of social connection
[7]. He imagined a future of home-spaces or education-spaces in which 3D digital
avatars of you and your friends could teleport, to a virtual space where you could
feel the presence of others and interact with them using natural interfaces or VR
headsets.
Nick Clegg, President Global Affairs at Meta, visualises an immersive education-

experience thus: “Learning won’t be limited by geographical location — a student
in Mumbai could attend a seminar hosted by a Professor in Frankfurt; a middle
school class in Wyoming could take a field trip to Stonehenge or the Pyramids of
Giza. Indeed, they could experience these landmarks as they would have been at
the time of the Druids and Pharaohs.” [8]
Let us apply the PIEX Ecosystem lens to the education Metaverse context, with a
student as the experiencer.
1. eXperiencer – students from all across the world joining a virtual class in the
Metaverse.
2. Ecosystem – a professor at an US university offering a virtual degree program
in the Metaverse; teaching assistants (both real and virtual assistants in the
Metaverse) who will interact more intensively with students and address their
clarifications.
3. Engagement – a digital twin campus of the US university (a fully spatial, 3D
virtual replica of the university campus, where a student can move about,
attend classes and interact with other students).
4. Platform – a 3D rendering environment, VR headsets to access the virtual
environment.
5. Impacts – from a student perspective, the impact measures could include
measures of how engaging the course is, or responsiveness of the online
teaching assistant. From a perspective of psychological and mental
34
wellbeing of the student, enterprises should, for instance, consider how to
address cyber-bullying in the deeply immersive education Metaverse
context.
Having examined value creation opportunities from a student perspective, the PIEX
lens could be applied next with a college administrator or an online teaching
assistant as the experiencer, and the remaining entities as part of the ecosystem.
A brewer in the Metaverse

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft in his Inspire 2021 address, presented a vision of the
enterprise Metaverse – an infrastructure stack that gets created as the digital and
physical worlds converge. “With our Metaverse stack, you can start with the digital
twin, building a rich digital model of anything physical or logical, whether it’s assets,
products, a complex environment spanning people, places, things and their
interactions. The digital twin is bound to the physical world in real time so you can
monitor the environment and collaborate within it using mixed reality. You can run
simulations. You can apply AI to analyse and predict future states.” [9]
Let us examine the Metaverse scenario at AB InBev, the largest brewer in the world.
It uses Microsoft Azure Digital Twins to create a live digital model of their breweries
and supply chain [10]. In this scenario, the experiences happen in both the physical
and the virtual worlds, and the “Metaverse” is in seamlessly bringing these two
worlds together.
Let us apply the PIE X lens, keeping the consumer at the pub as the experiencer.
1. eXperiencer – A consumer visiting a pub near home to enjoy an invigorating

sip of beer at the end of the work-day.
2. Ecosystem – The entities that ensure that the beer reaches the consumer
include a range of stakeholders in the value chain – from a brew master to
frontline operators to digital-twin maintenance experts, all of whom are
operating in the brew Metaverse.
a. AB InBev’s brew masters are able to get a real-time view into the
complex brewing process and are able to adjust the biological and
chemical process parameters based on active conditions.
35
b. Frontline operators leverage AI algorithms to automatically
compensate for bottlenecks in the packaging process. They use mixed
reality for remote assistance and to ensure uptime on the machines.
Routing algorithms help the delivery trucks transport the beer cases so
they achieve the lightest carbon footprint and ensure that the right
beers are delivered to the consumer at the local pub for the perfect sip.
3. Engagement – For the consumer, the moment of interaction comes at the
pub – does it have the beer of her choice, or does it anticipate her beer
preferences based on data of her earlier selections? In certain geographies
where Ab InBev is piloting direct-to-consumer channels to deliver beer [11],
the engagement happens at the doorstep of the consumer – how cold the
beer is, or how quickly has the delivery taken place?
4. Platform – The pub has access to a business-to-business platform, BEES,
where the retailers can browse products, place orders, arrange deliveries and
access business insights. The brew masters are supported by platforms like
Azure Digital Twins and Azure IoT. The maintenance expert leverages
Microsoft Mesh and HoloLens for maintaining uptime of the machines.
5. Impacts – This ensures that the consumers get to shape their experiences
(e.g., get the best taste of the beer) at the moment of engagement in a bar
near their home. Value is created through not only optimized processes and
high-quality products but also through enhanced environments of emergent
experiences (best quality brew, least time to delivery, most sustainable
process etc.) throughout the brewing X-verse ecosystem.
In both cases above, enterprises need to empower all stakeholding individuals to

become innovators. This requires giving those closest to the experience –
customers, employees, partners and other stakeholders – the capacity to redesign
new experiences in Metaverse ecosystems of relevance to them. This will require
diverse groups of individuals coming together interactively -- from customers and
frontline employees, to product managers, data scientists, and creative teams – to
reconfigure lived-journey engagements through “large scale co-creation” [12].
Rather than merely focusing on the Metaverse value chain from an enterprise
perspective, organizations will have to equally consider the immersive flows of
36
lived-journey engagements of people in the X-verse, as they seek to engender
outcomes and impacts of value to various stakeholders. For instance, in the case of
the education Metaverse, can the university identify, keeping in mind privacy
concerns, that one of its current students in its history program is a docent at a
museum in Italy in real-life, and having identified reconfigure its system to make
that student a teaching assistant for the course dealing with Italian history? Can it
harness the knowledge and skills of its students, and involve them via an
engagement platform in co-designing relevant content and new types of
immersive and interactive learning experiences, including tapping into language-
translation AI cognitive services?
Conclusion
We looked at how enterprises (a university and a brewer operating in the
Metaverse) can create greater value. As the technology and infrastructure layers of
the Metaverse and industry clouds get developed further, every business will have
access to the technology stack required for data analytics and process optimisation.
The critical differentiator will be in the creation of an experience-centric
organisation and co-creating Metaverse environments of unique value with
stakeholders – how well will enterprises manage the quality of experiences of
different stakeholders, and personalise and contextualise these experiences for
people.
McKinsey recommends five design principles for the Metaverse – 1) build a people-
first experience, 2) shift from social to societal – move away from communications
to relationships, 3) design responsibly, 4) make accessibility and inclusivity a
feature, and 5) reduce the physical and mental friction – by adapting our collective
2-D and 3-D user-experience design knowledge [13].
We recommend that enterprises embrace the Experience-verse while designing in

the Metaverse, and leverage the PIEX Ecosystem lens together with stakeholders
to visualise value creation opportunities at every moment of interaction between
the experiencers and the ecosystem.
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Author Profile
Krishnan Narayanan is passionate about all things digital. He
is the co-founder and President of itihaasa Research and
Digital (www.itihaasa.com). He studies the history and
evolution of technology domains in India, such as the history
of Indian IT, digital India and Experience-verse, AI and Brain
Sciences, and Digital Health. He is the President IIT Madras
Alumni Association.
Venkat Ramaswamy is Professor of Marketing at the Ross

School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. He
is a globally recognized thought leader, idea practitioner, and
eclectic scholar with wide-ranging interests in innovation,
strategy, marketing, branding, IT, operations, and the human
side of the organization. His books include The Future of
Competition, The Power of Co-Creation, and The Co-Creation
Paradigm.
38
References
[1] Krishnan Narayanan and Venkat Ramaswamy (2022), “Applying the PIE X-verse ecosystem lens
to digital scenarios of interactional value creation”, working paper, itihaasa Research and Digital
[2] https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/technology/technology-trends-2022
[3] https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-
insights/value-creation-in-the-Metaverse
[4] Krishnan Narayanan and Venkat Ramaswamy (2022), “Digital India Innovation and the
Experience-verse Revolution,” itihaasa Research and Digital,
https://itihaasa.com/public/pdf/Digital_India_Innovation_and_the_Experience-
verse_Revolution.pdf?v=1.1
[5] Venkat Ramaswamy and Krishnan Narayanan (2022), “Into the eXperience verse: The Strategic
Frontier of Cloud Business Innovation and Value Co-Creation,” Strategy & Leadership, forthcoming.
[6] ibid
[7] https://about.facebook.com/meta/
[8] https://nickclegg.medium.com/making-the-Metaverse-what-it-is-how-it-will-be-built-and-why-
it-matters-3710f7570b04
[9] https://news.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/2021/07/Microsoft-Inspire-2021-Satya-
Nadella.pdf
[10] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/converging-the-physical-and-digital-with-digital-
twins-mixed-reality-and-Metaverse-apps/
[11] https://www.ab-inbev.com/what-we-do/innovation/
[12] Venkat Ramaswamy and Francis J. Gouillart, (2010), "Building the Co-Creative Enterprise,"
Harvard Business Review, 88 (10): 100–109. See also, Venkat Ramaswamy and Kerimcan Ozcan
(2014), The Co-Creation Paradigm, Stanford Business Books.
[13] https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-
insights/value-creation-in-the-Metaverse
Disclaimer: Views expressed by the authors are personal based on various data
available in the domain seen with the spectacles of experience of Authors only.
39
Metaverse and applicability in Supply Chain and
Logistics Domain
Jayashankar & Bala A Kumar
Metaverse is a buzzword that is creating a storm in our world today. In this article,
we try to make sense of the wealth of multi-dimensional, multi-functional
information and complex visualisations which we have around us.
With billions of dollars which are continuing to be invested, let us look at reference
to Supply Chain transformations which further will bring beauty to the
complexity.
According to recent Accenture technology vision research with supply chain

executives over 60% of executives think Metaverse will have a positive impact on
their organization
Meta (Beyond – Greek Word) + Universe (English) = Metaverse - An offering which

provides users immersive and multisensory experiences using futuristic
technologies. New online trends combine technologies of VR, BC, AI, and IoT to
provide an immersive experience characterised by interactivity, simulation,
decentralized environment, and persistent reality.
As is the pattern in any evolution, there are always two sides of the coin. One which
says – nothing this is what we said when Virtual reality came into being. Just a hype
to sensitise the customer so that an entirely new digital commercial ecosystem
opens to jumpstart away from the conventional incremental innovations which are
also already happening at exponential speed.
40
So, what are the few wish lists for a Supply Chain Pro in the Metaverse era
eventually?
Imagine an amazing seamless virtual, digital yet experience of real-life situations.
• A Buyer signing a digital contract in one country, while at the same another
digital version inspecting the Vendor factory or inspecting his production line
elsewhere.
• Deliberating with Top Management on how to unlock values in the entire

Supply Chain ecosystem in Chennai India, while at the same time
collaborating with teams across countries on new product development – all
with the touch and feel.
More that could happen!

When assets, transactions and identities simultaneously exist in physical and digital
worlds that billions of people and organizations share, it will explode into many
more possibilities for the entire supply Chain ecosystem to deliver in new and
innovative ways.
Supply Chain Collaboration Networks will take a new meaning with convergence
of human’s intelligence & technologies by way of the explosion of multiple
engagement options in the Metaverse.
Customer insights can be continuously gathered on convergent mode which could

raise the bar on supply chains & customer experience end to end on to a paradigm
new entire world.
How would it affect Industry and Logistics and what is

happening?
• In Production and logistics, there are programs that could create digital twins
and design workflows, detect inefficiencies, and multiply productivity.
Seamless integration of various plants capacities, with maximum throughput
without human intervention in between
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• We feel that Blending reality and VR, Robotics, AI seamlessly and
continuously on the lookout for improvements will be the way forward in
Manufacturing supply chains specifically.
• BMW new age factory a view below.
Figure 1: The world largest custom – manufacturing company
• CUSTOMER CENTRIC CHANGES FOR EXAMPLE IN RETAIL
o Real time simulation technology will display showrooms and product

demos
o Already upholstery to painting companies is giving a flavour and the

possibilities will enlarge giving the preselection experience of the
customer to a new way. This will reduce lead time in the overall supply
chain by way of increasing the ability to sense the customer on custom
made products/solutions especially and reduce time to deliver and
collect monies.
• Enhanced retail market access (like for example how 1600 + showrooms at
Dubai Traders Market being attempted) for an immersive shopping
experience.
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• Customers could interact with each other and personalize their avatars with
clothes from different companies, as how platforms featuring Ralph Lauren,
Gucci and Zara are trying
By a video of AI factory of NVIDIA, we can visualise the way Metaverse is poised
AI factory demo brings a full suite of NVIDIA technology for robotics, EGX edge
computing, Aerial software development kit, GPU accelerated, software defined 5G
wireless radio access network to the factory floor.
• Many different types of cars in the same line as WIP (work in Process)
• 100’s of options in each car, 1000s of ways of configurations, Agile supply

chains – {BMW Produces 2.5 million vehicles / year out of which 99% are
customs made.}
• Use of Digital twins in one of the BMW factories and screen filled with
gleaming cars being assembled by banks of perfectly synchronized robots,
• BMW global teams can collaborate real time using different software
packages like Revit, Catia or Point clouds to design and plan the factory
production
• This result in no travel and thanks to Omniverse that reconfigures factories to

accommodate new vehicles
• NVIDIA Isaac Platform being developed for deploying a fleet of intelligent

robots for logistics to improve the material flow.
Opportunity for Supply Chain Networks & Risk

evaluation/Mitigation
So Metaverse looks like if properly evolved will help supply chain to anticipate,
predict market changes and associated risks across the network and manage
business performance and decision based on balanced views across growth,
profitability, sustainability
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How can it work
· Demand to Supply – By bringing together what customers want with what
companies have, by providing visibility in the processes, facilities, inventory, and
capacity thereby helping Companies remove supply constraints, provide increased
understanding of what customers want, demand, getting insights of both sides
and help harmonize supply and demand.
· Design: Humans/businesses design their environments to meet their needs and

expect seamless digital physical navigation for richer interactions
· DATA - will take a new meaning because of AI can generate synthetic real time
content that is perfect data. Supply Chain team can instantly adapt to the current
situation thereby enabling real time adjustments/decision making
· In Short ability to view the entire supply chain eco system and continually
balance supply and demand in real time may drastically increase
What does the industry and market say?
Interesting to look few data points in front of us on Metaverse though preliminary
1. Accenture Technology Vision 2022 sample survey highlights two key points –
a. 78% successfully adapted to pandemic related disruption, and that new

technologies like the Metaverse are at the epicentre of leadership
decisions
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b. 48% believe the Metaverse will have a transformational impact on their
organizations, 25% believe it will be breakthrough or transformational
and all believe that programming the physical environment will
emerge as a competitive differentiation in their industry.
Let’s start with Digital Supply Chain

• The Gartner list (2022) of the top 25 supply chains is all engaged in a digital
transformation of some aspect of their organization. IoT first of its nature
machines and systems connect to each other.
• Digital transformation secondary to physical, but in Metaverse digital first
world from the ground up where digital operations are to digitally enhance
the physical supply chain.
• Metaverse is to create a digital space that is then translated onto the physical
world, its lasting, stands on its own and interfaces with reality - Metaverse
elevates and completely redefines them. Or do digital products and digital
experiences diminish the importance of Supply Chain?
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How Metaverse could Enhance Supply Chain Space?
On a functional perspective:
Efficient and transparent purchasing
• Metaverse improves collaboration across all tiers internally and externally,

meaning collaboration not just with direct vendors for innovating and cost
engineering but enabling limitless collaboration with the value chain.
• E2E chain enhance transparent and efficient and effective between buyers
and vendors, the product optimized design improves product quality and
service and reduce churn and return rates
Manufacturing
• Metaverse will make/enable 3D and virtual tools accessible to general

consumers, could ignite a creativity and design explosion that will accelerate
the trend towards mass customization.
• Ability to digitally simulate products, production processes and factories to
optimize the allocation of assets across the supply chain, run production.
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• Operator training in a more immersive environment helps learning curves,
changeover in the product etc.
• 3D visualization and virtual tools easily accessible to customers, improving
accountability and transparency, magnifying creativity, fast track mass
customization possibilities, and fulfil customer requirements.
• Making it easier to replicate products digitally enables operations to improve
allocation of resources, alternate location scenarios, minimize interruption of
physical manufacturing facilities, reducing downtime and increasing
adoption of alternatives and fast changeovers.
• Blockchain under Metaverse regime will further work as a decentralized
ledger for goods that exist and instead of having to store it in a database
somewhere, Many Auto Industries had quietly moved into Blockchain for
traceability end to end in pockets.
• Metaverse will further ensure integration, end to end seamless visibility &
productivity.
Figure 2: To simulate workflow in Omniverse, digital humans are trained with data from real
associates, they’re then used to test new workflows in simulation to plan for worker ergonomics
and efficiency.
Warehouse operations
• The Metaverse is 3D world and lead more efficient warehouse designs have
dynamic, optima, and sustainability terms thru their simulation model
• Metaverse will provide training can take place without any disruption of day-
to-day operation to warehouse flow and layout
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• Better space utilisation, dynamic space modelling, slotting, racking
optimization
• Warehouse simulation and digital twins will further increase efficiency in
logistics processes and supply chain operations that
o Facilitate remote yet real time feel training in warehouses and
production centres there by increasing efficiencies and time to deploy
new age skilled manpower.
INBOUND/OUTBOUND/SEA/AIR/MULTIMODAL/HYPER
POSSIBILITIES BY METAVERSE (ALREADY HAPPENING BUT WILL HAPPEN WITH

RENEWED VIGOUR AND CONVERGENCE OF TECHNOLOGIES)
• Realtime Alternates routing (in case of bottlenecks)
• End to end REAL TIME visibility, EXCEPTION DIGITAL VISUAL alerts.
• Simulations and terminal operations 3D virtual version of physical assets as

well as container and vessel inspections providing a seamless traceability &
course correction digital option/experience
eCommerce
Metaverse has the possibility of combining the best of both store experience and
customer service with convenience of shopping at home. Immersive multi-
dimensional ability to interact with the products, customers understand the
features and attributes and get real time answers before making a purchase still at
the location of their choice.
On Supply chain Transparency
Metaverse will enhance supply chain transparency, with 3D representations

/visualisations of how products are made, distributed, and sold.
This will provide stakeholders visibility into lead times, transit times, shipping delays
and even real time shipping costs measurement in an immersive way as compared
to data driven way now
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With all stakeholders these days insisting on visibility across end to end from source
of raw materials/value addition/intermediate manufacturer/ country and even for
components & consumables on environmental and social dimensions, Metaverse
could help here as well
Transparency improvement is a direct boon to brining on more Trust across various

stake holders as we all know.
On reduction in Lead times
• Metaverse is a communal space for sharing ideas and ideal for collaboration,
incredibly easy for stakeholders within or external to a business to collaborate
on the design of a new products, intelligent planning and to share it with
manufacturer real time will shorten development times thereby reducing
time to market in very many ways.
Recall, circularity, could also take a new meaning right from Design stage itself in
Metaverse.
COLLABORATION EFFECT
Metaverse has the power also to create new supply chain es collaborative approach
and creates suppliers to transform the cost of manufacturing, simplify and
accelerate synchronization of value chain, create end to end value chain visible and
responsive as capital is becoming scarce and scarce
Wide range collaboration generates more optimized strategies, co-managed

margins and leads to better quality, reduced return rates, and can reduce visits for
quality control and process inspection.
Conclusion
Digital transformation will soon blur into Metaverse yet to be fully known of its
potential though in the next few years as several edge technologies will appear and
49
progress, resulting in an escalation of innovative ideas and approaches for better
customer experiences.
Metaverse is an evolution. Though it is in various forms as of now Technologies like

Metaverse w the centre of supply chain leadership decisions, enable fresh planning
approaches, accelerated virtual experiments, speed to market of future products as
we swiftly go through various details and information available – to pick the music
from sound, we feel there is enough and much more that is happening and could
happen to supply chain ecosystem, right from gathering customer insights, up to
payments & Finance and reverse Logistics.
As you could see, many organizations stepped into some level of accepting the
concepts, investing with an aim to bring in customer engagements, visibility,
sustainability, and credibility across stakeholders. This will further explode to an
entirely new world order whether under the guise of Metaverse term or not subject
to of course, risks associated with such evolution, convergence, scaling,
collaboration are handled effectively, speedily yet with a human touch for the
wellness of the Society.
Anything could happen in this VUCA world - Convergence of the technologies like
NFTs (Non fungible tokens) & Blockchain technologies used extensively for
traceability -the opportunities for transformation & new experiences on Supply
chains will be limitless. `
What could eventually happen is automating systems, reflecting digitally in the

midst of Hyper Connected networks, extending reality with immersive interfaces –
Amazing.
Happy Metaversing!
Partner in Transformation - www.jayamscmconsultants.com
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Authors Profile
Jayashankar (Founder & Director) & Bala A Kumar (Director) Jayam SCM
Consultants Pvt Ltd each with over 4 decades of experience in various domains
Supply Chains & Technologies
Sources
NVIDIA.com/Accenture.com/fortune.com/mckinsey.com/JPMorgan.com/supplylc
hain247/scdigest/few blogs /PWC
51
Metaverse – Onboarding & Training
Srinivasan Yagnanarayanan
Metaverse is pretty much going to reshape every aspect of the Corporate and
Enterprise world. Onboarding of workforce & Training them is one area which is
going to see a seismic shift in terms of the processes involved and way of doing
them etc.
Onboarding of Workforce
On an average the current onboarding process involves different phases ranging
from Post Hire Interview, Pre – Onboarding, Welcoming New Hires / Induction, Role
Specific Training, Transition to roles & Process Training in some cases. Some
organizations have a separate culture index (or) culture etiquette session as well
during this entire process.
The average time taken for this process typically range about 15 to 30 days or 45
days in some cases. The onboarding process starts the moment a new hire accepts
the offer formalities. Starting from completing the statutory obligations involved in
employment to transforming them into production ready talent involves
considerable amount of time and resources in the organization’s end. The Human
Resources department plays a pivotal role in this process and uses a lot of tools and
support at their disposal to effectively carry out these activities.
Though majority of Corporate World boasts of a pen less, paper less production, this
segment is probably the most time consuming and laborious paperwork in the
entire organization’s spectrum of conducting its operations. The global Society for
Human Resource Management estimates that the average onboarding cost-per-
hire is $4,425 and the average onboarding paperwork is said to be about 10 hours.
The average cost for an employee to reach full productivity ranges from 8 – 26
weeks.
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This process remains mostly the same, except for the tools and software used in the
process across the IT, ITes, BPM, BFSI & other corporate entities.
This process and practice have a different approach in the Manufacturing &
Industrial sector, as they have an entirely different operational schematic. Due to
their nature of job and business operations, though they have a limited onboarding
process and time, have a long and strenuous training period either on the job or
conventional classroom-based training. Many companies have training as an
ongoing practice for a prolonged duration of the workforce’s tenure. On an average
it takes about 12 – 18 months for a new hire to handle complex tasks and transform
into a skilled workforce. We often see lesser attrition in the Industrial Sector
compared to other areas of the corporate world. This is largely due to the high-level
skill sets required in the Manufacturing & Industrial sector and the precision at
which the tasks are required to be carried out. So, the Manufacturing Industry seem
to have a longer gestation period in terms of realizing the workforce’s skill sets and
they ensure the workforce stays with the organizations for a longer period.
Training
As mentioned earlier, training is an integral part of the onboarding process and
continues to play a key role even after the transition phase of the workforce. A Glass
Door report estimates that the hours managers spend training their employees
cost companies an average of $1,252 per hire. The global Learning & Development
market as of 2020 was $341 Billion and is expected to touch a $402.1 Billion by 2026
and this was prior to Metaverse and Virtual Reality.
Post new hire transformation into a skilled workforce, different organizations have
different structured approaches in terms of the product updates, process changes
and other service level trainings. These are part of the post onboarding HR process
and doesn’t demand as much time and efforts as the onboarding process. It still
involves considerable down time per employee during any of the changes
regarding product and processes.
With respect to training in the Manufacturing & Industrial sector, its mostly a part
of their job until about they complete their probationary period, which is ideally
53
about 12 months. Other than a few large conglomerates and corporations, the
training process in the Manufacturing Sector is mostly on the job training. This
process has somehow remained the same for several decades owing to its nature
of handling heavy machinery and tools. This basic tenacity of the training process
prolongs the total time taken for a new hire to be transformed into a skilled asset
to almost 12 – 18 months compared to the 8 – 26 weeks in a corporate entity.
Role of Metaverse for Onboarding & Training

Metaverse is transforming the interactions and the processes by which the above-
mentioned onboarding and training processes are conducted. The basic tenacity
of its immersive nature and the potential for remote operations enable it to be one
of the greatest technological form factors for solving these underlying challenges.
The pandemic introduced the working world to remote operations and virtual
meetings and conferences. Almost all the board level discussions were held
remotely in Zoom, Google Meet, Teams etc. in the past couple of years during covid.
Though it was born out of necessity, it introduced us a whole new level of processes
and practices that can be conducted remotely without much deprivation to
productivity. The entire corporate world worked remotely from 2020 and much of
it remain to do so. It has altered the basic fabric of working from office and
introduced us to a new reality of working from anywhere.
A study by Stanford over a period of 9 months during the peak of Covid found that
working from home increased productivity by 13%. In the same study workers also
reported improved work satisfaction and attrition rates were cut by 50%.
Work from Home (or) the new Work from Anywhere require different level of
engagement factors and technologies supplementing them. Airbnb is one of the
big names who has announced working from anywhere for their employees
recently. The pay scale of their workforce would remain the same irrespective of
their physical location. Microsoft is experimenting the 4 Day work week process in
specific geographies and is successful in terms of execution and productivity as
well.
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The post pandemic, new normal world has changed the way the global workforce
conducts their operations and engagement activities. Metaverse is a driving force
in enabling this process and behavioral change seamless and frictionless. An earlier
study conducted by PWC in 2020 found out that Virtual Reality based training is 4
times faster and more effective than classroom-based training and E – Learning
combined. Also, the workforce is 275% more confident to act on what they learnt
after training.
PWC – Soft Skills Efficacy Report
Metaverse based onboarding and training practices enable organizations the

access to global talent without the constraints of relocation. The time and cost
components involved in these processes see a significant reduction compared to
the existing practices. On an average the training costs are expected to be reduced
to 40% – 50% on the current training costs.
The productivity ratio is expected to raise 4X and employee morale and confidence
see a significant rise. The gamification of the onboarding and other employee
engagement processes add up to boosting the employee engagement level and
55
reduce the level of disconnect during remote and hybrid operations. It reduces
almost all the indirect costs related to logistics and other administerial expenses
involved in these processes.
Creating compelling content that outlines the values of organizational structure,

cultural values and best practices etc. are critical for a successful implementation
of Metaverse based onboarding and training experiences. Quality VR / AR Devices
form the next key component in terms of active integration and execution across
different demographics of the organization. Settings the standards and effective
pre-communication among the employees sets the tone for them on what to
expect.
As per the PWC Report and taking into consideration the cost and time required to
develop and implement these VR / AR based training and onboarding solutions, it’s
important to test them out and do a pilot in terms of the organizational structure
and then implement them at a large scale to attain a significantly higher ROI.
There are certain key variables involved in determining the ROI:
• Cost of facilitation.
• Total number of locations involved in the training.
• Total number of employees to be trained.
• Turn Around Time for the Employees to be trained.
• Implementation / Execution Cost in terms of VR / AR Devices.
These are some of the metrics that help in deriving the cost per employee for
training and will be detrimental in the overall ROI. It’s obvious the ROI will be
different for every company but having these factors into account will enable in
deciding the meritocracy and value chain of implementing Metaverse based
solutions for the organizations involved. As with any new technology some of the
key components like the VR / AR Hardware gears and the cost for content creation
are bit pricy, when comparing them with traditional training and onboarding tools.
But those costs will come down as the technology is progressing and when
competition picks up in that domain.
56
Even then the value they create, and the underlying potential of these processes
outrun the costs and create more value for the organizations in the longer run. The
entire onboarding and training of the Corporate World and the transition of
Industry 4.0 to 5.0 with advancements in complementary technological factors like
5G, computing prowess and optical technologies will usher in an era of a more
decentralized Web 3.0 and the Metaverse.
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Author Profile
Srinivasan Yagnanarayanan.
Founder, Square Comp – GRAHAs VR.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/srinivasan-yagnanarayanan-51079675/
Srinivasan has completed schooling and has over 13+ years of experience in various
domains including marketing and sales, services, ITes etc. Having represented
organizations like Dell Laptops, Bell Canada, and CCS Infotech Ltd. for over 10+
years, he started his own business Square Comp into providing IT infrastructure
support for the consumer segment. One of the pioneers from Chennai in the VR
domain and started GRAHAs VR, part of Square Comp from early 2017. GRAHAs VR
has their own Smartphone based Virtual Reality Headset and has won several
awards and accolades including being the Top 100 startups in the Silicon Valley
Global Conference by Startup Grind in partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs.
Srinivasan is the past Top 20 Finalists of the Seed Spark Program by “Stanford
Graduate School of Business.”
He has completed Cloud Computing – Core Concepts from NASBA.
He has also completed his Python Code Learning Program from Technical Career
Education.
58
References
PWC Report: https://www.pwc.com/us/en/tech-effect/emerging-tech/virtual-
reality-study.html
Glassdoor Study: https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/hidden-costs-

employee-onboarding-reduce/
SHRM Report: https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/business-

solutions/Documents/Talent-Acquisition-Report-All-Industries-All-FTEs.pdf
MIT Sloan Research: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/getting-new-hires-up-to-

speed-quickly/
Stanford Study (WFH): https://siepr.stanford.edu/publications/policy-brief/how-

working-home-works-out
59
Beauty in the Metaverse!
Chandrashekar Kupperi
Firstly, it is interesting to note the plethora of announcements about initiatives

from both the corporate world and from the celebrities in terms of the presence
they are building in the Metaverse!
And many tech companies are racing to build the kind of Metaverse that refers to
a scaled, virtual fusion of video games, social networking and entertainment that
creates new, immersive experiences…and an example includes swimming while
listening to music at an online concert!
As I pen this article, what fascinates me is the fact that though Metaverse is still in
its initial stages of evolution, and there is no comprehensive definition which can
describe it in its entirety, Metaverse remains a fad and a great curiosity for many!
My tryst with Metaverse…

I got the sneak preview when a Metaverse app called Loka made its appearance
on Shark Tank India and got the sharks Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta and Peyush
Bansal on board!
Then the famous song Tunak Tunak performed at a Metaverse concert by Singer
Daler Mehndi, was watched by over 20 million people! He became the first Indian
to do so!
Interestingly, a couple from Tamil Nadu made headlines when they hosted their
wedding reception in a Harry Potter themed Metaverse!
But when I realized that the Metaverse is not a stranger to the beauty industry too
it triggered greater fascination as I specialize in the “Beauty & Personal Care”
domain.
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Let’s first understand the latest trends in beauty industry
The greater advancement in technology is already allowing for previously
impossible applications in beauty to enhance both the front-end consumer
experience / diagnostics and back-end manufacturing / supply chain processes.
Examples include:
 Product Personalization through Quizzes, Custom printing, At-home

devices, DNA testing kits
 Increasing focus on sustainable options such as Refill models and Recycling
models
 Waterless Beauty options
 Beauty Ingestible, Supplements and the “Skinification” of Makeup
 Virtual Try-On Technologies and other partnerships with Big Tech like
Livestreaming
 Bringing the spa & salon experience home through portable devices
 Blue light protection products to resist digital ageing
 Coloured lenses
 Clean ingredient products
Well, please join me to explore the world of Beauty and the Metaverse…
Metaverse and the beauty industry

What truly caught my real interest is when goliaths in the Beauty segment such
as Gucci Beauty and Parfums Givenchy launched NFTs and Video game
collaborations. Avatars i.e., characters which are used to represent players in
games, offer brands an interesting opportunity and the chance to capitalize on
the increasing desire for Avatar customization and personalization.
The tipping point was when L’Oréal launched three dedicated Metaverse
collaborations with its brands NYX Professional Makeup, YSL Beauty and Mugler,
each integrating web3 NFT components like ownership and community into their
beauty offering. They launched this in the recently held Viva Technology (Viva
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Tech) 2022, the largest European technology industry conference and exhibition,
which took place between 15-18 June in Paris.
Transformational impact of Metaverse!

When I researched together with my Analyst, we both were fascinated to note
that the NFTs have been catching the eye of beauty brands for quite some time
now.
In 2020, (right when Animal Crossing, Nintendo’s avatar-style game was making a
comeback), Parfums Givenchy recreated their Prisme Libre powders and Le
Rouge lipsticks with the help of Nook Street Market, a popular Animal Crossing
fashion account. Players could sport these products on their Villagers (i.e.,
Personalized Avatars) and could also try out their 4G heart and lip-shaped tattoos.
Italian fashion and beauty house Gucci joined hands with Luxury styling game
Drest, to give players the chance to highlight their makeup artistry skills on
DREST’s model avatars.
e.l.f Cosmetics jumped on the NFT bandwagon with the launch of their first
collection of NFTs – or “Ne.l.f.Ts.” Digital versions of three of e.l.f.’s cult-favourite
products – Poreless Putty Primer, 16Hr Camo Concealer, and Ride or Die Lip Balm,
priced at the same level as their retail versions, were sold via Bitski – a NFT
marketplace.
Shiseido-owned NARS Cosmetics debuted their NFTs in August 2021 in the form
of artworks, inspired by their famous ‘Orgasm’ line of products. These were sold
via boutique NFT marketplace, Truesy, and were created by music producer Nina
Kraviz, and artists Sara Shakeel & Azéde Jean-Pierre.
At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2022, P&G Beauty took its first step in the
Metaverse with the debut of its virtual storytelling world, BeautySPHERE.
BeautySPHERE allows visitors to virtually interact with P&G Beauty’s portfolio of
brands through live and simulated content. The company hopes to use the
platform to educate consumers about ‘Responsible Beauty’ i.e., the principles of
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Sustainability, Safety, Transparency, Quality & Performance, Equality, Inclusion and
Wellbeing.
January 2022 also marked the beauty industry’s first ever Product launch event in
the Metaverse. Valdé Beauty, led by beauty industry veteran Margarita Arriagada,
held a product launch party at the Ainsley Gallery in a virtual world called
Decentraland. The event highlighted their new Divine Collection through a range
of real objects & NFTs and had more than 500 attendees. Influencers and
attendees were able to create their own avatars, view the NFT art and enjoy live
music by Latin X 3D artist Serena Elis.
More recently, L’Oréal filed 17 trademark applications in the NFT and Metaverse
categories for its subsidiaries - Kiehl’s, Maybelline, Pureology, Urban Decay,
Redken, Matrix, and others. According to the report published by CoinDesk, it
plans to let customers view, collect, buy, sell, and trade in virtual beauty products.
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Is there a key challenge?
Though the Metaverse is certainly opening the realm for unique new services and
business models, the privacy and security issues remain the immediate concerns
for the developers as a key challenge.
Whatever said as a challenge, to conclude, the description of Metaverse by

Matthew Ball, the author of ‘The Metaverse Primer’, who is also a Venture
capitalist is befitting. He says: “It’s about being within the computer rather than
accessing the computer. It is about being always online rather than always
having access to an online world. It is the successor to the mobile internet
state. It will not replace it but build on it.”
And Beauty is unfolding at unprecedented levels, thanks to Metaverse!
64
Author Profile
Chandrashekar Kupperi is the Founder of ANOVA, M&A and Fundraise Advisory

and a General Partner of Peaceful Progress Fund, an Angel Venture Capital Fund.
He is also an active Angel Investor. He has almost two decades of experience in
various multinationals such as Yardley of London, ExxonMobil, and KPMG. He is a
Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant, and a Company Secretary by
qualification.
References
Glossy.co,
Metanews.com,
Cosmeticsbusiness.com,
Businesswire.com,
Voguebusiness.com,
Beautypackaging.com,
WWD.com
65
Metaverse or Maha Maya Lok
Gemini Ramamurthy
Everybody loves a good story. Right from the earliest days of civilization there have
been storytellers who captivated their audience using different methods, be it by
different voices, using puppets, through song and dance or even by adding varying
degrees of suspense to reel in the audience. With the advent of movies, storytelling
has revelled in all its finery amassing the largest audiences across the world. In
India, storytelling is an inherent part of the culture and has taken so many shapes
like Villu Pattu, Theru Koothu, bommalattam, paatti stories, katha kalakshepam,
discourses on religious and historical popular stories, kathakali, dramas, etc.,
replaced by the all-encompassing movies, quickly but gradually.
Movies soon became the mammoth that grabbed the audience and held them like
no other medium before it. People have always loved the connection with their
favourite movie characters and the wonder, the magic and the flights of
imagination it takes to watch a story unfold on celluloid is irreplaceable. The more
masterful the movie’s storytelling, the more attention it is likely to get. But then this
ever-changing, ever-hungry world always needs something new. And new ideas
keep cropping up once in a while. Movies gave us stories that could get us out of
ourselves and into another world… more recently, a whole new Metaverse.
Before we learn about what Metaverse is, let us dissect the interest evinced by the
people of India, both from rural and urban areas, who have been bound by extreme
interest and attraction to the various forms of entertainment, described in the first
para above. Let us also discuss the various points of interest that have drawn the
people of India to the various forms of entertainment, both physically and
psychologically. These entertainment options that ranged from the rustic to the
urbane became the go-to medium after a tough day at work. This was the time
they got to spend their energy and money for getting the basic entertainment
inputs which were, in the earlier days, enjoyed free of charge. Gradually, they were
prepared to pay more and more money to the providers of movies, as technologies
66
improved, and movie production became a large industry with a huge turnover
throughout the world.
Innovative and interesting technologies provided Cinemascope, 3-Dimensional

projection, advent of multiplex theatres, innovations in audio technology,
animation, camera tricks and optical printers, video systems, television, exhibition
of films through satellites, internet screenings, conversion of old successful black
and white films to colour following the appropriate grayscale, etc., and the latest
being Metaverse. Though there had been an introduction and application of many
new ideas, the importance given to the content and the method of storytelling, and
the importance of a tight script remained the same. It is generally felt that the
content and expression of content will be greatly helped with innovative thinking
and application that is also enabled by usage of Metaverse.
The introduction of these features in content and the impact that it psychologically
causes have a better impact on the people who watch the movies, resulting in
substantial box office returns. The impact points can be attributed to audience
satisfaction and newer and more impressive methods of storytelling. There are
several other similar factors which have a lesser effect. Let me explain a little more
in detail so that the points are well understood by the audience.
A boy and a girl, neighbours, are both studying in the same college going by the
same bus at the same time. Even though they want to talk to each other, they do
not do so, apprehensive about social restrictions. But when they see a movie in
which the hero and the heroine come out of the same college, run around the
beach shore, then sing a duet song in Kodaikanal Lake, followed by snow surfing in
Shimla. Both of them may watch the movie separately, but, they enjoy the
presentation of the movie immensely, in the process of which the boy is inclined to
identify himself with the hero and the girl with the heroine, the result of which
creates a sort of vicarious satisfaction that they have together enjoyed the running
in the beach, the boating at Kodaikanal lake and the snow surfing in Shimla.
We identify this as an act of hero/heroine embodiment and it is noticed that it

brings satisfaction which is derived by these thoughts and feelings and are strongly
felt by the audience. The level of happiness attained by the person who is seeing
67
the movie cannot be measured or described at all and it exists regardless of his/her
status, qualification, looks, language, etc. The strong feelings of immense
satisfaction they automatically feel by just identifying themselves with the
charismatic movie characters automatically entitles them to dizzy heights of
satisfaction, sometimes much more than what was attained by the movie
characters themselves in reality. Psychologists describe this queer and unique
reaction as VICARIOUS SATISFACTION and several examples can be given from the
list of movies that have had a successful run worldwide. This is analysed as the
primary reason for the box office success of movies worldwide by the industry.
Movie audience in South India who have observed the formation of Fan Clubs of
Movie Artistes will vouch for this phenomenon.
Another important aspect is a strong script which could often make or break a film.
The audience in the cinema hall gain immense satisfaction when they watch a
movie with excellent dialogues, clean dialogue delivery and crisp story telling.
Along with these, if the movie could take a further step out of the theater and into
the minds of the audience and engage with them interactively, the experience
becomes more immersive. This immersive storytelling is being considered as one
of the strong points of Metaverse.
The capabilities of Metaverse on these two issues are so effective and advantageous
that they make the content of the movie more compelling to the audience who
identify themselves with the movie characters and liked and identified with their
thoughts, resulting in a drastic increase in audience satisfaction at the theatre and
through box office returns too.
Now, let’s take a quick refresher course on what is Metaverse. It is a virtual world
that integrates the elements of the physical world within it, thus giving the users
access to a new environment and allowing them to interact with people virtually.
The Metaverse uses 3-D virtual environments and involves integration between
virtual and physical spaces. People can create their own avatar or character that
represents them in a virtual space, work them with hardware like VR tools and
effectively live a life in this space that includes consuming a variety of art forms and
visual entertainment, including cinema.
68
Metaverse has been around in the movie business for quite some time, even before
the word Metaverse was coined. It has changed the way we experience cinema for
the better. The Metaverse has enabled movie makers to be refreshingly immersive
and interactive with the audience. Moviemakers continue to find ways to surprise
and enthrall, where the real world and Metaverse meet.
Movies are all about creating a connect with the audience. When the viewers attach
themselves to the onscreen characters, imagine themselves in the place of the
characters, and adopt their thoughts, actions, emotions, triumphs, and lives as
theirs, it gives them an emotional gratification. This causes the viewer to connect
emotionally with the characters. This connect gets deepened through Metaverse
where the viewer is welcomed to a world where they can immerse themselves in
virtual activities, create games, star in them, explore alternative plotlines or
character enhancements, create or participate in activities designed around the
characters, etc., thanks to the successful application of the philosophy of creating
Vicarious Satisfaction to a majority of the movie audience. The producer of the
movie knows that if there are more satisfied people in the audience, the box office
returns will also swell in a big way.
This immersion into the world gives the viewer a safe space to explore their
emotions, experience adventure and romance and probably even provide the
adrenaline rush they desire. They are also drawn to the nuances of a character or
plotline in a way that was never possible earlier. Metaverse helps the audience
become the character through virtual reality or with the help of avatars. They are
integrated into the story through games, activities, shopping for their characters,
accumulating tools or weapons and working together with the involved fan base
to create a more dynamic and interactive Metaverse.
Earlier, hardcore fans would line up to buy DVDs containing some deleted scenes,
just because they want more immersion into the movie they like. Now these scenes
could simply become part of the Metaverse and become a talking point for the loyal
fan base. Nowadays, fans’ expectations from movie makers have stepped up
phenomenally. The Metaverse is the perfect playground for movie makers to give
the demanding audience a more complete immersive experience that could reel
69
in more ticket sales and create a more interactive and memorable movie
experience.
Some recent examples of Indian movies which have used the Metaverse to their
advantage are Radhe Shyam, Vikram and the upcoming Bade Miyan Chotte Miyan.
These movies have utilized the novelty factor of a virtual universe where the
audience gets snippets and peeks of the upcoming film, coupled with interactive
games, avatars and activities that invoke the curiosity and interest of the audience
and sustain it for a longer time duration.
The Kamal Hassan starrer, Vikram, went a level above by combining elements from
an earlier film, Kaidhi, by the same director, Lokesh Kanakaraj. The film has become
one of the highest grossing films.
Using Metaverse has a lot of other benefits beyond immersive movies. Here are
some of them:
There is no longer a need for live locations. Even filmmaking equipment like lights,
camera and sound systems have become dispensable nowadays. Film makers may
not be tied down by the vagaries of nature, hardware issues, crew demands, etc.
Rather they would easily tie it all up in the animation studio which could recreate
all these things perfectly.
Just as in any game worth its salt, moviemakers have also begun using Easter eggs
in their work. Easter eggs are an unexpected or undocumented feature in a
computer application or film, included as a joke or a bonus. Finding these in the
Metaverse increases the excitement of the viewer or player.
The Metaverse connects people in every part of their lives. It has proven to be a
wonderful way for creators to engage with their audiences in new ways, from live
chat rooms to interactive story templates to invites for offline events.
With the need for innovative content and ways to showcase that, technology has
always tried to keep pace. This provides for faster and more targeted innovation
that only keeps getting better and better.
70
Often the Metaverse could become an additional source of revenue for the film
makers. The Metaverse could become a platform for sale of games and film
merchandise for the movie buffs.
The Metaverse offers a completely immersive way for promoting and consuming
products and services using new marketing and advertisements strategies like
virtualized storefronts, curated shows, and highly interactive engagement and
customer service.
This means that the viewer can see the product, hold it, and even feel it using
technology (experience of touch through vibration, forces, and motion). This type
of interaction will benefit both the consumer and business, as both parties will
receive a better user experience.
The Metaverse needs a great deal of planning and implementation. It also needs a
substantial budget. Sometimes, over ambitious plans without a strong, captivating
movie could result in heavy losses as there would be no takers for the Metaverse of
a failed movie.
In conclusion, one could draw parallels to the Metaverse to the Indian concept of
Maha Maya, an illusion that is immersive, captivating and yet provides the audience
the pleasure of experiencing something as though it were a physical
thing. Microsoft and Facebook may call it Metaverse, but strictly following the age-
old practice of renaming it in our own language, I would be personally happy to
refer it as Maha Maya Lok. Do you agree with me?
71
Author Profile
Gemini Ramamurthy is a industry veteran straddling many industries including

entertainment, IT, BPM and Hardware. He is the chairman of Cyber Security and
Privacy Foundation, an NGO focusing on building awareness on Cyber security.
He has been into various Philanthropic activities in the Southern Part of India.
72
Metaverse and Education
Dr. Georgios Pappas
Education (even Distance Learning) is a major domain that can benefit from
Metaverse applications. Virtual Environments can also help to simulate classrooms
and transform institutions to global universities and COVID-19 era worked as a
catalyst towards this direction.
Metaverse applications are not only limited to virtual classrooms but they can also
include advanced gamification elements for education that may transform the
learning process into an interactive experience.
Some examples, already applied at the Open University of Cyprus (OUC) or under
development, are the following:
Environmental Studies Tool
Figure 3: Screenshots from the Environmental Studies tool
73
The Environmental studies tool [1-3] is being used by OUC students of the Master ‘s
Degree program “Environmental Conservation and Management”. It provides
distance learning students with the common ground for taking measurements for
their projects regardless of their real life location (major cities – towns – villages).
This tool features a virtual drone system (variety of heights) which is done using
multiple cameras and RenderTextures. Along with it, it provides a teleport system
to specific locations where events take place. These events are triggered remotely
by faculty, via microcontrollers and sensors/buttons (IoT-enabled) and all students
are able to watch them simultaneously. The microcontrollers are sending data to
the cloud and the game is getting and updating it in the scene. In this case, there
is a button switch; when it is enabled, the forest is set on fire and also educational
material appears. When it is off, the forest returns to its initial state. This way, the
tool is suitable for both asynchronous and synchronous learning delivering a
pseudo-multiplayer mode without the need of a server/client setup.
Ancient Theater of Philippi
Figure 4: Screenshots from the “Ancient Theater of Philippi”
74
Ancient Theater of Philippi [4] is a cross-disciplinary project that brings
science/engineering together with humanities. Using this gamified tool, students
can virtually tour in the Ancient Theater of Philippi which is located near the city of
Kavala in Greece. The 3D model of the theater is created with the photogrammetry
method using thousands of photos (close-up/drone takes). Students can also test
their knowledge by providing their answers to spawning quiz questions.
Waste Management Tool
Figure 5: Screenshots from the “Waste management Tool”
Waste Management Tool [5-6] is a cross-disciplinary project that combines

gamification with waste management. It is a tool that features KPIs and data
discovered from years of field research and thus, it blends real world data with a
virtual environment. This gamified tool provides a top down view and gives the
opportunity to students to understand more by playing. A custom-version with
input-data panels for stakeholders is also under development.
75
References
[1] G Pappas, J Siegel, I Vogiatzakis, K Politopoulos “Gamification and the Internet
of Things in Education” Handbook of Intelligent Techniques in Educational
process (Springer Book Chapter)
[2] A. Avraamidou, S. Lambis, G. Pappas and C. Christodoulides “Enhancing

Distance Education Students’ Learning Experience Through Emerging
Technologies”. In Proceedings of INTED2019
[3] R. Strzebkowski, T. Gehrmann, J. Siegel, K. Politopoulos, Christodoulides, C. and

Pappas, G. “AR/VR/Game based Edutainment Applications and Real-Time Data
Visualisation Technologies for Discovery Learning in the Industry and Distance
Education.” Presentation at OEB Conference, December 2018
[4] G. Pappas, A. Petrides, V. Liapis, and J. Siegel, “Ancient Theater Of Philippi: A 3d

Photogrammetry-Based Game For Distance Humanities Learning,” in INTED2022
Proceedings, 2022, vol. 1, pp. 3590–3597.
[5] G. Pappas, A. Petrides, V. Liapis, and J. Siegel, “Ancient Theater Of Philippi: A 3d

Photogrammetry-Based Game For Distance Humanities Learning,” in INTED2022
Proceedings, 2022, vol. 1, pp. 3590–3597.
[6] I. Papamichael, G. Pappas, J. E. Siegel, and A. A. Zorpas, “Unified waste metrics:

A gamified tool in next-generation strategic planning,” Sci. Total Environ., p.
154835, 2022.
76
Author Profile
Georgios Pappas, Ph.D., Ph.D., is an Electrical & Computer
Engineer graduate from the National Technical University of
Athens (B.Sc./M.Sc.-Dual Ph.D.) and Michigan State University
(Dual Ph.D.). He is also an alumnus from the MIT IoT
Bootcamp (2017) and was an invited instructor at the MIT
DeepTech Bootcamp (2019). He is currently working at the
Lab of Educational Material and Methodology of Open
University of Cyprus developing XR and gamification
applications for Distance Learning. His areas of interest include Metaverse
Applications, Gamification, Simulation, and XR and how these technologies can be
used in combination with IoT implementations and AI. you can contact him at
[email protected]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-pappas-655a55a7/
77

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Metaverse and Emerging

Dr. Rajaram Venkataraman,

Dr. Georgios Pappas,

Metaverse Key Technologies

Differences between Web 3.0 & Metaverse

Evolution of the Metaverse

Metaverse – Key Challenges

Metaverse Market Opportunity

Metaverse use cases

Opportunities for Indian Companies

Applied Metaverse - Case Studies 2

We are delighted to present this report on “Metaverse and

We believe that this knowledge paper and applied case studies

Dr.G S K Velu Mr.Bhupesh Dr.Rajaram V

Gartner expects that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at

Startups and Innovators from established organizations

“Metaverse will allow people to enhance or mimic their

It’s a virtual world

It’s Facebook’s name

It’s linked to Web 3.0

It’s a new Google

All the above

In conclusion, the Metaverse is a 3D world where you can

Although Metaverse is considered as a single virtual space, it

Metaverse and its key technologies

We identify eXtended Reality (XR) as the superset that covers

Main Difference between Augmented and Virtual Reality

In Augmented Reality (AR), users can visualize synthetic

eXtended Reality as a superset

Example of an IoT-enabled gamified tool for environmental

Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger for recording

A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, crypto, or coin is a

Individual coin ownership records are stored in a digital

Artificial intelligence is the ability of a digital computer or

Artificial Intelligence (source: Pixabay)

The Internet of Things (IoT) [1] is a network of people,

The Internet of Things (source: Pixabay)

Elements of the Metaverse (source: Blockchain Council)

While Web 3.0 is the next level of a decentralized, permission

Differences between Web 3.0 & Metaverse

The term “Metaverse” first appeared in Neal Stephenson’s

The Metaverse has traditionally been the domain of private

Some of the common cyber security challenges in

Moderation challenges: No help or support access exists in

Identity: Metaverse users' identities can be spoofed, their

Client vulnerabilities: VR and AR headsets are heavy-duty

User-to-user communications: Because the Metaverse

Data accuracy: Location, merchandise quality, reviews, user

Global market revenue growth is driven by key factors such

Metaverse market revenue worldwide from 2021 to 2030

Ready or not, the Metaverse is going to change the world as

 What new opportunities will the Metaverse provide for

A recent Citi report predicts the total addressable market for

On the B2B segment, some of the use cases include:

B2C use cases include

In order to build the Metaverse, develop the infrastructure

Metaverse is a digital / virtual world which is more

People in India also have started leveraging Metaverse to