What Exactly is the Metaverse?

In April of this year, I participated in a virtual reality (VR) video shoot at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. I met some talented professionals from Running Bull Media who create VR experiences. They filmed me in various stadium locations using these weird cameras that shoot and create a 360-degree perspective.

The whole point of the VR filming session was to create an immersive experience that Extreme Networks uses for promotional purposes at customer events, partner events, and industry conferences. I must admit that, at first, I was skeptical. In the past, when I heard the words virtual reality or Metaverse, I immediately thought about gaming. Playing 3-D fantasy role-playing games is not something that holds the interest of a 62-year-old guy like myself. But after viewing the final application in the VR goggles, I was sold.

Since then, I have learned much about augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology. I am convinced that we will see tremendous innovation in the years ahead. This blog and video are the first of many discussions from the Office of the CTO at Extreme Networks about AR/VR.

Which brings me to the title of this blog, what exactly is the Metaverse? Well, it really depends on the perspective of who you are talking to. I use the term Metaverse as a loose definition for anything that incorporates either augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) technology.

At Extreme Networks, we believe AR/VR holds limitless potential in the enterprise. Take a moment to watch this fun Extreme Networks video defining the Metaverse:

The Metaverse is a medium for communication that bridges physical and virtual experiences. It’s a digital environment complete with augmented reality and virtual reality technologies that will change how we connect, communicate, and access information.

Society has transitioned as we already live in a world that is built on an Infinite Enterprise. With the advent of remote workplaces, distance learning, and telemedicine… enterprises are now infinitely distributed. The Metaverse will expand boundaries further by bringing the workplace to the employee, the classroom to students, healthcare to patients, and shopping to consumers via an immersive virtual world.

Companies must deliver at scale to deliver on this promise of the Metaverse. In other words, scaling services, technology, and even people to provide reliable and secure connectivity everywhere and for everyone. Scaling the technology in a world where digital and physical realities seamlessly blend.

In the Metaverse, people can control their personal experiences while connecting to others from all over the world. The Metaverse will enable them to communicate and collaborate in new unique ways using augmented reality, avatars, virtual worlds, and applications with infinite possibilities. The Metaverse is the ultimate consumer-centric experience.