The importance of data in the metaverse

A research from Bright Data has highlighted the importance of data in virtual environments such as the metaverse.

The survey, conducted by Vanson Bourne, generated insights from 400 IT and technology industry leaders across the US and UK, showed 54% of respondents believe that data will be vital in sustaining the metaverse.

To support their metaverse strategy, 84% of leaders across the IT, telecom, and technology sectors say they are planning to look at procure data intelligence solutions to be deployed inside virtual worlds in the next two years. Such technologies are important to tech industry leaders and their businesses as they measure data outputted by AR and VR technologies as well as capture any other publicly available data.

Since first being discussed in 2021 the metaverse has been a hot topic and is widely seen as the next frontier in business and technology. Although we are in the early days of these virtual spaces, many respondents expressed concerns around data ‘compliance and standards’ (47%) and ‘employee experience of time and space’ (38%) inside metaverses. These concerns demonstrate the need for unified metaverse standards and practices as well as a code of conduct for collecting different types of data.

Data is essential to the success of the metaverse

60% of all IT and technology leaders planning to integrate business operations within the metaverse are worried about ‘data’ and ‘security’. The findings are the latest of many to suggest that – though data is essential to the success of the metaverse – there remain serious unresolved questions about how it will be captured and used.

“This is nascent technology, unfamiliar to consumers and business leaders alike, which is why we’re thrilled to be leading the conversation around data use in the metaverse”, said Or Lenchner, CEO at Bright Data.

“We now know that organizations rely on public web data to support the most strategic decision-making. The metaverse will add a new layer to this – revealing millions of additional public data points. As such, it is clear that data solutions will play a key role in connecting organizations to their customers or employees in the metaverse, helping to uncover hidden insights”, added Lenchner.

“However, I must caution and stress the need to collect data responsibly and intelligently in the metaverse and avoid at all costs harming the overall data ecosystem. It’s an exciting frontier for all, especially for those within the data space. But we must be prepared to measure exactly how much as well as the types of data that organizations require in planning their future business direction”, concluded Lenchner.

Other key findings

• 57% of IT and technology leader respondents claim to be fully up to speed with how he metaverse operates.
• 89% of respondents consider data generated by the metaverse will either be very important (55%) or quite important (35%) for their business operations.
• 97% of respondents think data will either be vital (54%) or quite important (43%) to sustaining the metaverse in general.