Metaverse & Finance Teams: Opportunities

What is metaverse?

Metaverse is a shared online, 3D space that allows users to interact and transact with each other using computer-generated avatars and objects. It uses a combination of virtual reality and augmented reality to allow people (often in different geographies) to come together via tech devices while giving a real-world feel.

Should finance teams invest in the metaverse?

Metaverse may seem like a marketing leader’s priority. After all, businesses have mostly tested the metaverse for marketing purposes. Yet, a study by Accenture reveals that:

71% of CFOs think metaverse will have a positive impact on the business.

How can CFOs leverage metaverse to their business’s best interests?

1. Identify new revenue streams from the metaverse

As more customers jump on the metaverse bandwagon (Gartner estimates that by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse), CFOs must work with the marketing and sales heads to build viable business models that help generate new revenue streams from this parallel universe.

Brand placements, virtual goods/services sales, and other sales tractions are some ways metaverse helps businesses make money. For example, when Travis Scott performed on the metaverse platform, Fortnite, wearing Nike Air Jordan sneakers, Nike benefited $518,000 from brand awareness. Skin sales (costume sales for avatars) during the show fetched $12.5 million.

2. Prepare for transactions in digital currencies

Cryptocurrencies and digital wallets are the preferred payment channels for business transactions in the metaverse. Gartner expects the metaverse to be a virtual economy powered by digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). CFOs need to broaden and strengthen their business’s payment processing capabilities to accommodate these virtual currencies.

3. Help measure ROI from metaverse investments

Metaverse investments are expensive and finance teams need to guide their businesses on the right opportunities. They should build frameworks that help predict the return on investment (ROI) based on various parameters, not limited to brand visibility, sign-ups, and purchases made on the metaverse platform.Metaverse investments need to be looked at from a long-term view to build engaged customers and prospects that translate into revenue numbers.

Is the time ripe for metaverse investments?

Among the technologies on Gartner’s blockchain and Web3 technologies hype cycle, metaverse still has a long ten years to mature. While metaverse interoperability is almost nil today, experts believe it to happen soon and will be the key to its success.

With some metaverse technologies such as cryptocurrencies and blockchain wallets are nearing their plateaus of productivity, CFOs need to proactively look at the market trends and check if they align with their business goals and the preferences of their target audience.

While the viability of metaverse investments is still too early to determine, there are other mature technologies—cloud, AI, analytics, iBPM—that CFOs need to implement to ensure that their business is ready for future opportunities.