EY was the first of the big consultancies to adopt permissionless blockchains. Today it announced that it will expand EY wavespace, its existing team collaboration offering, to the metaverse. Additionally, EY US has launched a metaverse lab.

“I see a lot of interest in the metaverse from clients across all sectors and industries,” said Edwina Fitzmaurice, Head of Global Client Success at EY. “At this stage, the metaverse is about creativity and opportunity, not certainty, and I am excited that EY teams continue to shape a roadmap for how clients can anticipate and transform for this next frontier of experience. human”.

The metaverse offers more immediate or long-term potential, depending on the industry. Fashion and luxury brands are fast adopters, given the lucrative opportunity to equip avatars in the metaverse. Morgan Stanley predicted that metaverse revenue for the luxury sector could reach €50 billion by 2030.

Banks also see plenty of opportunities, not least to help facilitate payments from the metaverse. In the short term, there is potential for staff training with the future possibility of virtual branches. A wide range of other sectors are getting involved, from INTERPOL to UPS to sports franchises.

“EY teams are committed to helping companies understand what the metaverse means to them and how to strategically adapt new business models for the transition to a decentralized economy,” said Jay Nibbe, Global Vice President of Markets at EY.

We’ve also heard of a lot of corporate enthusiasm for the metaverse. It was no different in the heyday of the virtual world when Second Life began. The challenge is getting users to stick around, something Meta is struggling with right now, despite having invested billions.