TCS To Tap Opportunities In The Metaverse. Here's All You Need To Know

IT services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has jumped on the metaverse bandwagon by creating experiences in a variety of verticals, including online commerce and workplace experiences, among others. Calling the set of products and services on its metaverse, ‘themaTiCS', TCS has introduced nine horizontals under three primary themes — Time and Space (TAS), Culture (CUL), and Technology (TEC). On its website, the company says it's the “Future of Work", and goes on to add, “Whether the office is moving to your dining table or the metaverse is a question that simply won't settle.”

On the themes, the company says that the “suddenness and the severity of the pandemic brought three themes to the top of everyone's priority pyramid”.

The products and services are aimed at improving the remote workplace experience. Since TCS has implemented the 25:25 Vision — by 2025, only 25 percent of TCS workforce will work out of TCS facilities at any time, with associates spending only 25 percent of their time in the office — this set of metaverse-based applications makes sense.

The company has already begun work on a “virtual bank” for retail transactions and a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace using its own blockchain system.

The company's metaverse journey will be aided by its Avapresence subsidiary, which bridges the gap between the physical and digital worlds. TCS' IP technology supports the platform, which incorporates cloud, blockchain, AI, and IoT capabilities. It makes use of key XR (extended reality) elements that allow for the design and operation of various Avapresence components.

To expand its business in the metaverse, TCS is focusing on the retail/consumer packaged goods, education, and real estate sectors. These will be the metaverse's primary drivers.

In order to increase the company's collective capacities in the metaverse, it is training its employees in-house for various levels of expertise.

Apart from TCS, other IT majors such as Infosys, and Tech Mahindra are also working on various technologies to tap the metaverse market. As per global investment bank Goldman Sachs, metaverse is estimated to provide an $8 trillion opportunity and help IT companies expand their offerings to deep tech like artificial intelligence, data analytics, and augmented/virtual reality.