Accenture at the Forefront of Enterprise Metaverse as Meta Enhances Horizon

Accenture, a pioneer in XR technology, has dedicated the last few years to investigating the positive impact of AR/VR/MR on business processes. Recently, they showcased a successful collaboration with Meta, aimed at developing an enterprise-ready Metaverse service.

Accenture’s journey into the Metaverse began in 2019 with the launch of their collaborative virtual campus, the Nth Floor, designed to boost training engagement, enhance knowledge retention, and simplify the onboarding process for employees.

Throughout the development of the Nth Floor, Accenture built an internal community of over 1,300 XR enthusiasts eager to utilize Meta’s array of Quest devices and Horizon applications. These internal advocates also offered peer-to-peer tech support and created a social networking space for sharing knowledge.

The company’s immersive pilot, One Accenture Park, developed within the Nth Floor framework, has garnered significant recognition, including the Brandon Hall Gold Award for Technology Excellence for two consecutive years. The pilot boasts 50,000 active users across six countries, with a remarkable 4.7/5 rating for its onboarding experience and a 33% boost in learning retention compared to traditional video training.

Is the Metaverse for Enterprise Making a Comeback?

Looking ahead, Accenture aims to broaden its range of mixed reality services, including Meta products, and leverage the metaverse’s potential, as reiterated by the company.

The Nth Floor initiative has led to substantial scaling efforts, with over 175,000 employees utilizing the virtual space each year, supported by the deployment of 60,000 Meta Quest headsets.

This development comes at a crucial time for Meta, which is revamping its Horizon Metaverse platform following a surge in growth in previous years.

In February, Meta introduced a $50 million Creator Fund to attract new services, brands, and developers to its Metaverse platform. While this figure may seem small relative to the billions already invested by Meta, it underscores a renewed commitment to the Horizon Metaverse platform, potentially signaling a fresh opportunity for Meta’s vision of online interaction.

The Horizon Metaverse largely targets consumers and gamers, with enterprise-focused solutions like Workrooms being disabled for several years. However, Meta’s continued investments encourage brand exploration in Horizon, indicating that dedicated XR (extended reality) enthusiasts should monitor these developments closely.

Furthermore, Meta’s Creator Fund will emphasize smartphone-based content in the upcoming year. The company highlights the significance of cross-device interoperability among mobile devices, which is vital for the growth of XR technology and services in the wider market.

Meta stated officially:

By investing in mobile content, we can reach countless new users who don’t yet own a Quest headset, ultimately expanding opportunities for everyone. That’s why, as part of our $50 million Creator Fund for creators of mobile and MR environments, we’re announcing our first creator competition this year focusing on mobile.

New Horizons for Meta

Earlier this year, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated, “This is going to be a pivotal year for the metaverse,” following a remarkable $100 billion in spending.

Zuckerberg elaborated:

The user base for Quest and Horizon has been consistently increasing — this year is when several long-term investments aimed at enhancing the metaverse’s visual appeal and inspiration will come to fruition. We expect to have a much clearer understanding of Horizon’s direction by year-end.

In conclusion, Zuckerberg noted that Meta is ramping up its efforts to create “amazing projects that will redefine human connection. I am always grateful for everyone accompanying us on this journey.”

Meta’s CTO, Andrew Bosworth, informed employees that 2025 will be crucial, describing it as “the most significant year in my eight years at Reality Labs.”

Discussing the metaverse and Horizon Worlds, Boz remarked that the service’s mobile application “must succeed for our long-term objectives to have any chance.” He also noted, “If you’re not feeling the weight of history, you’re not paying attention.”

Boz further articulated:

This year will determine if this entire effort is celebrated as visionary work or recognized as a legendary misstep — we haven’t truly impacted the world yet.

Reflecting on the billions Meta has invested in XR, Boz concluded that “we are living in a remarkable era of technological advancement and have positioned ourselves at its center with our investments. It’s likely that most of us may never have another chance like this.”