The Three Questions to Ask Yourself
to Prepare for the Metaverse

By    |    August 19th, 2022

At our 2022 Configuration Lifecycle Management Virtual Summit, we heard from Dave Rhodes, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Digital Twins, at Unity on the growing importance of the industrial metaverse.

Dave outlined the importance of this future platform by posing three questions B2B manufacturers need to ask themselves to prepare.

 

1. Would You, or Have You, Spent Tens of Thousands of Dollars on a Product You’ve Never Seen Before?

 


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Over the last two to three years, new innovations like hyper-real 3D, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing have collided with low-cost, high performance devices, a 2 ½ year pandemic and social isolation to create a new way of making purchasing decisions.

This “new normal” is not entirely new, but is (or has become) the norm. Consumers don’t want to go back to ‘before’ when there was only the physical, brick and mortar option. Consumers are in the driver’s seat and like it.

How does this translate to the B2B world? B2B buyers are expecting to experience a similar buying experience to their life as a consumer, and this is evident in a recent McKinsey study. With more than 70% of B2B decision makers indicating their willingness to make large purchases using fully self-serve or remote technologies, companies need to be sure they are ready.

 


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#Digital Transformation, #Innovation, #Metaverse, #Partners, #RT3D, #Unity,

2. Are You Doing What Is Needed to Meet This New Normal?

What got you to where you are today won’t get you to this new normal. Trade shows, linear videos on a static website, glossies, physical prototypes, these are fast becoming relics of the past.

Over the last year, Unity commissioned a study with Forrester to look at pandemic-driven adoption of immersive technology in industrial use cases to understand what companies were doing since they couldn’t go out with their sales force and physically see people on the shop floor. It’s clear that adoption of these technologies accelerated in a matter of a few short months. The significant outcomes of this study were:

 


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Anywhere these companies could have done tech innovation — robotics, AI, clean manufacturing — 80% invested in digital marketing and e-commerce. 

Why is that?

 


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Two reasons:

  1. A shift in buying behaviors and an increased willingness to research, execute, evaluate, and experience high-value purchases solely online
  2. The availability of new tools that digitize the sales and marketing workflow in a way where the experiences are personalized, running in real-time (60-120 frames/second) on all different platforms, for an overall better experience than physical.

3. How Are You Going to Leverage This Technology to Ensure You Will Have a Connection between Your Brand, Your Product Superiority and the Intangible Capabilities of Your Products to Your End Buyer If You Can’t Be Physically Present Anymore?

The Metaverse

 


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The elements of the metaverse are in front of us and have been there for some time.

  • From 2D to real-time 3D – The metaverse is the next evolution of the internet, where ultimately, everything that is 2D, everything that is static, is now real-time, 3D, immersive and hyper-photorealistic.
  • From static to interactive – Instead of being isolated, singular experiences, it is a multi-player environment with several people working on a single product simultaneously and at scale to understand the capabilities of your product and related services
  • From isolated to engaged – The digital twin you’ve implemented behaves, looks, and operates identically to the physical counterparts, allowing you to interact with the product in a real-time, physically accurate way.

Additionally, data collected can be used to understand how people are interacting with your digital model in a scalable way to inform future product strategy.

 


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Digital transformation is happening across the entire lifecycle but having a real-time 3D digital workflow across multiple platforms is paying off dividends relative to product design cycle time, the way workers are building higher quality products more safely, and this is all connected to end customer.

Where do you start?

  • The data you have already is what you start with. Get that data clean, in one place and out of its proprietary design tools.
  • Start with a pilot. Start small and create measurements for a hard ROI, whether it’s sales cycle time, money spent on traditional marketing materials, or product flexibility

You will see a more loyal customer experience, learn more about what is going in your markets, be an innovator in the eyes of customers and create competitive advantage.

Watch the Full Presentation to Learn More

Selling Complex Products in the Metaverse

Dave Rhodes
Senior Vice President, Unity
Watch now