The Metaverse has long been gaining traction in both the digital and the real world. The idea of humans interacting with each other in the virtual world using three-dimensional avatars offers several opportunities to users including in the fields of cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and more. However, the immersive virtual world, which is expected to grow to a $679 billion industry by 2030, also poses several risks in terms of trust and safety (T&S) concerns, as per a study by the Everest Group.

According to Rajesh Ranjan, partner at Everest Group, “The metaverse is attracting large investments from technology giants such as Google, Meta, Microsoft and Nvidia to make the virtual world a reality, and the applications hold unlimited economic and social potential for both good and bad”. “As organizations develop their business strategies for the metaverse, trust and safety issues need to be among their foremost considerations. Enterprises may be able to adapt some best practices of today, but they will also need to address scenarios and use cases that are unique to the metaverse”, he added.

According to the report, as the metaverse is expected to grow in the coming years, the enterprises will have to face challenges like ensuring the safety of virtual assets, managing data privacy and preventing the abuse of online avatars.

Tackling these novel challenges will require a collaborative approach among enterprises, academia, policymakers and trust and safety service providers to harness “the full potential of metaverse as an immersive yet safe place for users.”

T&S service providers are among the fastest growing sectors of the Business Process Services market, and can reach $15-20 billion by 2024. It is expected to grow 35-38 percent through 2024, according to the report and zoom to 60-68 percent growth after the year ends. The acceleration in the growth rate is expected due to advances in technology and infrastructure.

T&S service providers can use their expertise to help firms tackle the risks posed by the metaverse. This in turn, will give rise to ecosystem partnerships to address the complex policies, technological expertise and localisation of services that will be in demand due to the evolving metaverse.

source: https://www.firstpost.com/business/metaverse-to-be-worth-679-billion-by-2030-safety-major-concern-study-11234441.html