Just as businesses are starting to adapt to hybrid working, the workplace has begun to evolve again with the emergence of the metaverse. According to a recent study by Lenovo, 44% of employees are willing to work in the metaverse and believe that it can deliver benefits like productivity to the workplace.

In the UAE, a high-level committee has been set up to shape the future of artificial intelligence by investing in the metaverse. The committee, chaired by the Dubai Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will establish partnerships and support 40,000 virtual jobs in five years, with a goal of boosting the digital economy.

The metaverse is primarily defined as a shared digital space with digital representations of people, places, and objects. In the future, the metaverse can be a highly immersive extension of the physical world, with its rich user interface. At the enterprise level, this opens possibilities for businesses to create a more viable, interactive workplace.

However, there is skepticism on whether companies have the capabilities to pull it off. Two in five (43%) respondents believe their employers do not, or probably do not have the knowledge or expertise to enable them to work in the metaverse of the future.

Alaa Bawab, General Manager, Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG), Middle East & Africa: “The United Arab Emirates has always had its eyes set on the future, with its digital transformation plans being initiated as early as 1999. The establishment of this committee is a testament to the UAE’s visionary initiatives and aims to set the country as the testing ground for the latest technology and future business models.”

He further added, “While the pandemic challenged us all to adapt to new ways of work, organizations were forced to evolve at an exponential pace and accelerate their digital transformation. The metaverse presents businesses with new opportunities but also more complex technological challenges, such as the need for more computing power, better integrated hardware, and simpler and more flexible IT solutions.”

The study also showed that 51% of working adults agree that an employer’s speed of adoption of new technology is an indicator of readiness for new technological realities, such as the virtually enhanced physical reality of the metaverse.

While 44% think the metaverse will improve their work productivity, three in five (59%) do not think or are not sure that their employers are currently investing enough in IT to help them maximize their productivity.

To manage an increasingly complex technology, businesses need simple and flexible IT solutions. Lenovo’s solutions include ThinkReality platform, which is powering the enterprise metaverse with a portfolio of award-winning hardware, software, and services.

The as-a-Service market is growing at four times the overall IT services total addressable market.2 As-a-Service solution provides mission-critical support and services, enabling businesses to use technology to scale quickly, lower costs, and reap greater efficiencies. With its flexible and transparent offerings, Lenovo has helped organizations from the education to aerospace sectors optimize the right technology with the potential to transform and future-proof their operations.

“We are just scratching the surface of the metaverse, not to mention the new economics of Web 3.0. For now, metaverse opens a world of possibilities for businesses, which according to our research, almost half of employees are willing to participate. To grasp it, companies need to identify new ways to make the most of their technologies. And Lenovo’s everything-as-a-service offerings can help organizations unleash their full potential,” added Bawab.