The Closing the metaverse chasm: Monetizing the ecosystem Catalyst aims to demonstrate an open, CSP-based platform which can support third-party applications with a simple route to monetizing services
CSP universal platform provides simplified route to commercial metaverse
Commercial context
When considering what exactly the metaverse is, and what it means to both consumer and business, there is for many still no precise answer. This current state of ambiguity is reflected in numerous surveys – market research in the UK and US by YouGov suggests that majorities in both populations are not confident they can explain what it actually is, and similar research from KPMG finds that consumers are divided on when they think it will be widely used.
Yet this uncertainty has not dampened its appeal. Research from Accenture (who are known to have invested heavily in XR hardware to assist with internal training) finds that consumers are eager to use the metaverse, with 70% intending to do so in the next 2-5 years for non-gaming purposes. Accenture’s research, like that from many others, points to a hunger for a broad variety of commercial metaverse experiences – the difficulty is getting there. Despite the appetite, a fragmented ecosystem and lack of non-gaming applications makes this a risky market.
The solution
This is the reason for Closing the metaverse chasm: Monetizing the ecosystem Catalyst, which aims to demonstrate the path to an open, CSP-based metaverse-as-a-solution. It’s based on the principle that metaverse is essentially a set of social immersive experiences that should be available on any channel – in particular mobile, as this requires no special goggles and is available to everyone. To contain the costs, it aims to provide a common set of technologies that can be used with any third-party metaverse platform and any extended reality application. The project goal is to provide an alternative, yet pragmatic and cost-efficient solution to the many siloed metaverse systems currently available.
The piloted CSP solution has demonstrated that it can support events-based immersive experiences, such as concerts, sports events, shows, and conferences. In fact another core principle of this Catalyst was to target established markets and ‘metaverse-enable’ them to tap into realistic business opportunities. For example, the project has shown how an event venue can be metaverse-enabled through a CSP marketplace to make the live music concert not only available to remote users with unique experiences, but also provide compelling social experiences to those attending the event in person as well through a mobile app. This makes the monetization potential – for both the CSP and enterprise – an attractive proposition.
A guiding principle has been that while different metaverse experiences will require different platforms, the foundation on which these experiences are created should be common. The solution is therefore based on a core set of replicable technologies and works with any third-party or CSP platform – it is built with Open Digital Architecture (ODA), pre-integrated with TM Forum Open APIs, supports emerging cross-platform standards (e.g ERC721 – Token Standardization NFT), and achieves these key innovations:
The Catalyst provides a route for CSPs to become more actively involved in the emerging metaverse market, creating a bridge for enterprise customers to bolt on metaverse experiences and a marketplace through which to sell them too. This twin approach makes it far easier for companies to deploy metaverse services without having to commit resources to every aspect of their setup. In providing the underlying infrastructure, CSPs can also make use of their existing channels of communications consumers to help them to promote and access metaverse experiences.
Applications and wider value
What sets the solution apart from existing solutions, then, is its versatility – for instance going beyond VR experiences to cover the entire spectrum of extended reality accessible to the mass market through channels like mobile apps. It is also designed to be deployed across a diverse range of industries, such as educational and training platforms, conferences, the NFT marketplace, cinemas, gaming, malls, museums and archaeological sites. These application scenarios will also benefit from major cost reductions, helping speed the growth and profitability of the metaverse. Traditional onboarding processes for metaverse platforms can take months with expensive custom integrations – by reusing open standards and APIs from ODA and ERC, the time and cost of onboarding new partners can be lowered by as much as 20%.
According to Project Champion Abdullah A. Albarrak, Technology Alliances & Partnership Specialist Technology Alliances & Partnership of STC, “we expect this Catalyst to result in a 25% revenue growth for CSP enterprise customers and over a 16% revenue growth for CSPs in B2C market – we also expect 20% cost reduction in B2B2X. As we transition into the 5G era, this is the perfect time for CSPs to capitalize on new network capabilities that make it possible to experience virtual applications en-masse. We know the demand is high – now, at last, we have the beginnings of a universal metaverse platform that enterprise customers can use to make meaningful inroads into the metaverse.”