Marc Jennings, CIO of analytics and AI at travel and transportation giant TUI, says the one big tech trend to watch next year is immersive technologies.
He says as the cost of hardware — like virtual and augmented reality headsets — starts to drop, more companies will start exploring how to get the most out of the metaverse.
Like other industry experts, Marc Jennings believes that the fact that major IT vendors – especially Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta – are betting big on immersive experiences means it’s likely that this phenomenon will soon gain in importance: “It is clear that this is where the world is going”, he says.
Ten year horizon
Consulting firm McKinsey estimates that the metaverse could generate up to $5 trillion in consumer and business use cases by 2030. It also predicts that the average internet user will spend up to six hours a day in metaverse experiences by 2030.
These numbers may seem unlikely at this time, especially since key technologies in the metaverse, such as virtual reality and augmented reality, still have a long way to go before gaining interest or acceptance from the General public.
Yet, rather than wait until the end of the decade, some organizations are thinking about how metaverse technologies could be applied to their own use cases.
“My advice would be to think about how these technologies can potentially support your business,” says Marc Jennings. “Where do you think they can add value in the workplace, what type of capability or service does it lend itself to?”.
Anticipating customer needs
Marc Jennings says TUI already has a number of initiatives underway where it is developing an understanding of how it can use the metaverse to develop richer experiences for internal colleagues and external customers.
“It’s very low-key at the moment. You could spend a lot of money on this space. We’re just getting started. But it’s the kind of innovation TUI thinks it needs,” says- he.
Marc Jennings says his data team and colleagues in IT and the rest of the company are always on the lookout for key technology trends that could affect TUI and its customers in the short to medium term.
The goal of exploratory work on immersive experiences is to understand how end-user needs are likely to evolve over the next decade. These explorations help the company get an idea of the kinds of capabilities that will likely be needed in the not-too-distant future.
“If the metaverse becomes the norm, we need to develop these skills – and this is a whole new set of skills that is completely different from what you have in your business today. So how do you understand this requirement and prepare for take advantage of the metaverse before it really explodes?”
Increased immersion
According to Marc Jennings, TUI strives to understand potential use cases both in the industrial metaverse, which applies to applications used internally by staff, and in external customer experiences.
When it comes to industrial use cases, early explorations show that immersive technologies can be very useful in helping build muscle memory. He gives the example of the training of airplane pilots. “Virtual technologies mean you don’t have to be physically on an aircraft to do it. It’s very expensive to ground an aircraft to do training, just as it’s expensive to bring in personnel from cabin and pilots from all over the world in this one place. If you can do these things on a virtual device, or if you do your annual checks, then that’s a very useful potential.”
Another potential example of the industrial metaverse is remote support for engineers – having someone who can help employees virtually means the company doesn’t need a range of highly trained experts at every physical location. .
In terms of customer experience, Marc Jennings explains that TUI can use virtual technology to present content to customers and give them a better idea of the hotel or cruise ship where they could stay during their vacation.
“With a headset, you can virtually walk around the hotel – and it’s a lot more powerful than looking at photos on a website. You can see your room layout, and you can see what the pool looks like “If you’re going on a cruise ship, you have an idea of where your room is. It’s about bringing the vacation to life. It’s extremely powerful.”
A sketched roadmap
TUI has invested in hardware to help explore these use cases. Some of the company’s in-house developers work alongside external startups to develop their expertise and knowledge. Marc Jennings says his team is also exploring the possibilities of the metaverse with some of the big tech companies. “These things are happening – and it’s about providing the right size investment. It’s about developing a step-by-step approach.”
Marc Jennings says TUI has already created a three-year roadmap for immersive experiences. This strategy indicates where the company wants to arrive in terms of capabilities, skills and use cases. “Things could be rolled out over that three-year period. But the goal is to test the waters. We want to dip our toe and make sure we’re aware of what’s going on and stay on top of changes. in technology,” he explains.
“The hardware that people wear is constantly changing. The investment from the big players is immense. The cost of devices, the cost of hardware, and the ability to build apps in this space are becoming more accessible. things that happen over time.”
Welcoming new skills on board
In addition to his longer-term goals, Jennings acknowledges that his company’s attempts to penetrate the nascent metaverse hold valuable lessons for other professionals considering their strategy.
According to him, the main lessons to be learned so far relate to technologies and skills. Professionals should know that testing use cases means you’ll likely need a different tech stack than pretty much anything you currently have in your heritage.
According to Marc Jennings, the successful application of these technologies within the framework of the metaverse also requires a change of mindset and skills. “The type of person you would want to hire right now is probably someone who works in the gaming industry. They usually have a lot of the skills required,” he explains.
“Building a training program around that internally, or trying to change staff, is doable, but it’s also a challenge. Those are things we’ll have to take into account as we move forward.”
Source: ZDNet.com