Enter the metaverse: how to prepare for the data tsunami that’s heading our way

The future of data is impossible to predict. If I could predict the future, I would be a billionaire. For a start, I would have ignored the advice of that sketchy individual loitering outside my local 7-Eleven in the 90s, and not invested my life’s savings in Lycos and AltaVista. Alas.

There is no way to predict the future with 100% accuracy. But we can make reasonable assumptions based on current trends. And the trend seems to be heading towards the metaverse. So what is it, and what does it have to do with data?

A brief history of the web

When the internet shifted from the “information superhighway” (Web 1.0) to the “interaction superhighway” (Web 2.0), there was an explosion of activity. Think about the evolution of video games alone. We started with Pac-Man and Tetrism and evolved to open, real-world gaming with a ton of interaction. And with all that interaction came a ton of data.

Following this logic, and seeing where tech companies are putting their money, the metaverse and the immersive web will revolutionize how we consume information and the way we interact with one another. And the data generated from this revolution will dwarf anything we’ve seen thus far.

The metaverse will likely be a more personal experience, involving talking to others in real time, without them being there physically. This new kind of interaction will create data which currently does not exist. The scale and scope of data generated from the metaverse will skyrocket into petabytes, not terabytes. Think the Holodeck on steroids and espressos.

Preparing for the metaverse

So, how do you capture the data generated from metaverse? How can anyone normalize it, store it, and make it useful?

If your tech is set up correctly, your organization should be ready for the metaverse and whatever changes come with it. A truly data strong organization should have a data engineering solution that automates data and drives analytics in real time. And your leadership team should always have a data-first mindset, keeping up to date on the latest trends and changes as they evolve. Smart leaders should also constantly be searching for new, hidden sources of data which are often overlooked, and integrate those sources into one format through automation to ensure there is a single source of truth and strategic asset for the company.

That’s what we mean by real-time data. It’s more than simply getting the data on-demand. It’s about setting you up to scale with new and ever-changing data sources as they emerge and having the business teams own the data.

If it currently takes you six months to integrate new data sources into a single format and make it actionable, and if your data automation doesn’t efficiently clean and normalize your data using ETL, the metaverse will become a nightmare for you. If you struggle managing terabytes of information, imagine how many petabytes of data you will be wasting just trying to find a single source of truth with the metaverse.

Data doesn’t need to be scary or difficult. If you are already data strong, you should be able to scale your data efforts for the metaverse.

Finally, a piece of friendly advice: don’t bet your life’s savings on stock tips from a shady guy in front of a 7-Eleven.