Microsoft (MSFT), a technology business, is clinging tenaciously to its metaverse future.
Microsoft Chief Strategy Officer Henry Bzeih joined CoinDesk TV’s “All About Bitcoin” live from CES 2023 and stated that as the world goes towards a more digital landscape, a hybrid model is likely to be the future of customer and enterprise partnerships.
“When we talk about the whole customer experience, you have to factor in the metaverse,” said Bzeih, who has 28 years of experience in the automotive and technology space.
One of the most important tech events of the year, CES is renowned for laying the groundwork for some of the most significant breakthroughs to come.
According to Bzeih, Microsoft is currently concentrating on “mobility cross functionality” in order to change the way that customers utilize platforms to purchase.
One example he pointed to is the way consumers buy cars today. Rather than making the trek to a local dealership, Bzeih said consumers – via the metaverse – will be able to “configure the colors, features [and] functions,” of a car. He pointed to the Fiat 500e, which Microsoft is featuring in its virtual car showroom. Microsoft’s partnership with metaverse company Touchcast to lead the data development of that Fiat model is a “natural progression,” he said.
“Microsoft is sitting behind the scenes in an enablement mode,” Bzeih said. “What we do is create that edge to cloud product and solution areas for our customers.”
However, challenges like bringing the metaverse-enabled car selling to the U.S. market linger. The process can be difficult as it calls upon the need to adjust to the ideas of independent franchise owners, who often, too, find the metaverse puzzling, said Bzeih.
The solution, he said, may be a hybrid model that gives businesses the assurance that the “millions of dollars” they’ve invested into physical places don’t just vanish. “To walk away from that and make the whole experience, not there, it just doesn’t make any sense for them,” Bzeih said.
