Microsoft has its own metaverse that it says will launch with PowerPoint and other Office apps in 2022
- Microsoft unveiled at its Ignite conference a corporate version of a metaverse based around its Teams chat software, allowing users to meet in virtual reality
- CEO Satya Nadella said the Covid-19 pandemic has made the commercial use cases of this kind of virtual world much more mainstream
The first offering, a version of Microsoft’s Teams chat and conferencing program that features digital avatars, is in testing now and will be available in the first half of 2022. Customers will be able to share Office files and features, like PowerPoint decks, in the virtual world.
“This pandemic has made the commercial use cases much more mainstream, even though sometimes the consumer stuff feels like science fiction,” Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. Nadella himself has used the technology to visit a Covid-19 ward in a UK hospital, a Toyota manufacturing plant and even the International Space Station, he said.
The public perception of the metaverse – as a futuristic world where plugged-in people recreate their whole lives online – is still a ways off. But the business uses are starting to be available now, Nadella said.
Accenture used Microsoft software to create a “digital twin” of its headquarters in order to run orientations for new employees during the pandemic. The consulting firm has run more than 100 such events, reaching more than 10,000 employees, said Microsoft Vice-President Jared Spataro.
Anheuser-Busch InBev created copies of its brewing operations and supply chain that are synchronised with the actual facilities and based on up-to-date information. The system lets brewers adjust to changing conditions and helps operators keep the packaging machines up and running. Microsoft wants to sell more cloud software that lets customers ranging from retailers to manufacturers do this.
