Since its establishment in 2017, enterprise blockchain has come a long way. The blockchain used by enterprises was originally a technology built on a private, permissioned network, and was mainly used for supply chain management. As the blockchain matures, companies are beginning to use public, permissionless networks such as Ethereum to conduct business.

Fast forward to 2021-companies are now applying the concept of decentralization to create more efficient workflows in Metaverse. William Herkelrath, head of business development at Chainlink Labs, a decentralized oracle network, told Cointelegraph that although Metaverse is difficult to define, he believes that it is a collection of ecosystems that naturally develop from decentralized finance or DeFi:

“Businesses need to interact with the outside world and will therefore be forced to have an ecosystem in Metaverse. For example, consumers want to use a loyalty program outside of a single platform, so they are more likely to choose to ensure that rewards can be used in other ecosystems The brand. Metaverse allows data, physical assets, commercial and financial assets to be placed in layers outside the centralized environment.”

Enterprise Metaverse

Although this concept sounds very futuristic, many companies using blockchain have begun to accept Metaverse. This topic was discussed in depth in a panel discussion entitled “Building a Corporate Multiverse” at the virtual meeting of the European Blockchain Conference last Wednesday.

David Palmer, head of blockchain at Vodafone Business, mentioned in the discussion that he believes that Metaverse is more than just a virtual world that can be digitally experienced through games or social media networks. According to Palmer, Metaverse is now being applied to financial concepts driven by blockchain technology, such as central bank digital currencies, irreplaceable tokens or NFTs, and DeFi.

Palmer pointed out, however, that the missing layer in Metaverse is a way to transfer virtual transactions to the real world. Palmer pointed out that mobile phones can connect these two worlds together and act as middleware. He further told Cointelegraph that Vodafone Business is using blockchain to create digital identities that can be applied in Metaverse and real life:

“Digital identities will transcend the digital and physical world. For example, digital wallets will contain bank accounts, mortgage information, tokens, NFTs, etc. But decentralized identities can also access these credentials, allowing individuals to participate in Metaverse and the physical world.”

Palmer shared that Vodafone Business is working on building a wallet in mobile devices to host virtual identities. Greyscale Research’s recent report also mentioned the concept of self-sovereign identity in the multiverse. Titled “Metaverse, Web 3.0 Virtual Cloud Economy.” Thesis Describe self-sovereign identity As the “Internet-native social reputation coin (Creator Coin)”, it is noted that data from other platforms may be transmitted to Metaverse and used for identity or credit scoring.

Angel Garcia, Head of Global Supply Chain Strategy and Transformation at Telefonica, further explained in the panel discussion that Metaverse’s digital supply chain can help improve the efficiency of telecommunications companies. According to Garcia, Telefonica took the approach of creating a blockchain network for use in the Metaverse ecosystem. He added that the company is currently collecting information to improve end-to-end processes. “The next step is to automate these business processes and make them focus on everyone,” he said.

Rowan Fenn, Co-founder of Rise X — Enterprise solutions for companies seeking to build Digital Autonomous Organization — Also mentioned that companies can have digital twins of autonomous organizations to manage, operate and control analog processes: “These organizations will be able to interact and trade in real time in the multiverse. This will also enable digital autonomous organizations to work together in the analog world. “

Fenn elaborated that companies with digital twins in the Multiverse ecosystem will be able to produce more goods and services while using fewer environmental resources. Therefore, he believes that this business model will enable the world to move from a finite economy to an infinite economy.

Companies already use blockchain to operate in Metaverse

Although companies are still exploring early use cases for applying business models in Metaverse, some departments are already taking advantage of these environments. For example, Herkelrath mentioned that the blockchain network used in the insurance industry demonstrates Metaverse’s business model.

Specifically, Herkelrath explained that hundreds of thousands of insurance contracts have been provided to farmers around the world through a virtual ecosystem. He added that smart contracts built on the blockchain network and decentralized oracles like Chainlink make it possible to solve the transparency challenges in the insurance industry. In addition, this simplifies the entire insurance process and makes it available to deprived customers worldwide.

Although it seems that this can be achieved with blockchain alone, Herkelrath pointed out that the data required for smart contracts generated by insurance institutions cannot be collected without Metaverse:

“This is possible because you have a metaverse of companies, where the data is verified by a wider network. The fact that this can happen in Metaverse shows that business-to-consumer transactions can become cheap and the world Anyone can visit.”

How likely is it for companies to accept Metaverse?

Although some companies are beginning to develop and utilize business models in Metaverse, understanding the technology may hinder rapid adoption. Rodolfo Quijano, head of blockchain at Henkel, a German chemical and consumer products company, mentioned in the panel discussion that the biggest challenge now to promote adoption is to understand the value Metaverse can provide companies:

“Technology is not a problem, but it takes more time for people to understand the role of blockchain and how it compares with the old-fashioned enterprise resource planning system. As far as the blockchain used in Metaverse is concerned, finding evangelists can be a huge challenge.”

Palmer added that scalability in the Metaverse enterprise environment is also an issue, while at the same time allowing companies to understand how to transition and participate in this new technology: “For telecommunications companies, the biggest issue to consider is how to connect people in Metaverse. People. There will be two identities, one virtual and one physical, so the question is whether we will have the bandwidth for connectivity.”

In addition, Pal acquiesced that when it comes to Metaverse’s business model, the company will question the role of blockchain. However, he believes that the technology is essential for these use cases. “Blockchain is the trust and exchange layer in the multiverse environment. This is a huge opportunity, but for the company, achieving transformation will be a challenge.”