"Metaverse as a Service" will become the foundation of the Web3 Internet era

The concept of the Metaverse has been around since the 1980s, but it's only in the last few years that we've seen hundreds of projects spring up in the space. What we currently experience is a gamified world with limited integration and stickiness. Right now, the Metaverse remains a blank canvas for early adopters to test out and have fun with the concept. However, to look to the future of the Metaverse, with its ability to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds, we need to keep pushing to develop and go beyond the concept of the Metaverse itself. Let's turn our attention to the leaders who are shaping the next generation of the Internet, with the potential to have a powerful impact on commerce, engagement and entertainment.

For the Metaverse to succeed and become a regular tool that people use in their daily lives, it must enable users to engage with it. As a sci-fi concept or in a game world, the metaverse sounds fantastic. But, for them to be a social and business tool, we have to make sure there is a layer of utility or incentives to keep users interested. Thanks to blockchain technology, non-fungible tokens (NFT), extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI) and other functions, web3-enabled technologies are greatly promoting the realization of the metaverse concept. Metaverses with the ability to customize, communicate with their customers and industries of choice, and build new avenues of virtual engagement will find the greatest value in Metaverse-as-a-Service (MaaS) offerings. It will enable its users to customize their own cities from AZ and will be the foundation of the next internet.

So, what is MaaS? It’s a service model where brands can define their spaces as they please. MaaS platforms enable others to create digital locations tailored to each user's unique needs, whatever those needs may be. For the Metaverse to be a successful utility concept, MaaS solutions will be key. The reasons are as follows:

Every metaverse has different needs

Everyone has an idea about the future of the Metaverse, whether it’s a gamified world or an access point to Web3. Users want the opportunity to define the space and shape it into a platform that reflects the most vivid imagination. A world where users can connect with their favorite musical or visual artists will be very different from one built to engage with sports fans. When web3 acts as a common thread across multiple metaverses, the idea is to use decentralization to ensure that each metaverse is a unique world serving a different purpose. One size fits all is not the nature of the Metaverse, nor should it be. With MaaS, customization will be critical and in the hands of the creator. The esports metaverse will rely more on team branding and gamified tokens, while entertainers may want to create an event space to host virtual concerts.

Each metaverse has different needs based on the industry and the level of engagement a brand wishes to have with end users. The Metaverse is where brands grow their fan base and build their community. So not only will the elements be different, but the brand positioning of the entire Metaverse will be very different. As more and more brands choose to extend their interactive communities to the Metaverse, the Metaverse needs to be even more customizable.

Not everyone is equipped to build this type of metaverse - just like not everyone can learn to code to build a website, but then platforms like WordPress and Shopify came along. These platforms provide a core foundation built by technologists and industry experts, while allowing customization by end users based on brand and strategy. This is the benefit of Metaverse as a Service (MaaS).

Build with interoperability in mind

A virtual environment is a place to socialize, build relationships and create communities where people can interact with other users in real time. Going a step further, users should not be locked into one metaverse or community, but must be able to interact with and teleport their avatars between other metaverses. Imagine if you had to change browsers every time you visited a website, depending on where it was built or hosted. Then you definitely don't want to. Interoperability ensures that any constructed metaverse will not become a virtual island, and users across multiple metaverses will be able to exchange experiences and possessions. As such, every element has to be designed around interoperability, and every web3-enabled solution needs to work properly in every metaverse — whether it’s a token, an avatar, an NFT or other digital assets.

Built with interoperability in mind, users will be connected, borders open, and the Metaverse more accessible to all. Borderless solutions are already being applied in other industries, but the same concepts must apply to the digital realm as well. For example, avatars in the esports metaverse should be able to shop in the metaverse of their favorite fashion brands.

Enable users to build on top of the physical world

The Metaverse should not replace the real world, but rather be an interactive layer that augments the real world experience. MaaS also enables users to integrate an interaction layer within their own physical world. For example, if a person displays an NFT in their house, a visitor can scan a QR code to enter that person's metaverse, where the visitor can continue to browse the owner's NFT library - a feature that can be activated through XR. Without the option of MaaS, the Metaverse would continue to be a gamified world, with only the digital world existing as a separate slipspace. MaaS will bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds through immersive experiences and an always-on interactive layer.

As the Metaverse continues to evolve, it's not just the blockchain experts behind them that determine their appearance. MaaS will be the catalyst for creativity and the path to economic prosperity for creators.

When the Internet came out in the 1980s, it would never have become what it is today without the people who started building on it. Early adopters will lay the groundwork for how the Metaverse will develop and what it will look like in the future. Mass adoption of the Metaverse is only possible when MaaS allows non-crypto-native users to start creating their own Metaverse, paving the way for the next generation of digital ecosystems.

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