What is a Metaverse-as-a-Service (MaaS)?
Metaverse-as-a-Service (MaaS) refers to a business model that offers metaverse-related services and solutions to clients. MaaS is a new and innovative approach that leverages the growing popularity of the metaverse and provides companies with the tools and services they need to participate in this virtual world.
The metaverse is a virtual world that offers a seamless, immersive experience for users. It enables users to engage in a variety of activities, such as gaming, socializing, commerce, and entertainment. MaaS offers companies the ability to enter this virtual world and participate in its growth and development.
MaaS providers offer a range of services, including virtual world development, virtual reality and augmented reality solutions, digital asset creation and management, and more. Companies can use these services to create their own virtual presence in the metaverse, or to offer metaverse-related products and services to their customers.
One of the benefits of MaaS is that it allows companies to focus on their core business while outsourcing metaverse-related services. This reduces the time, resources, and expertise required to develop and maintain a virtual presence in the metaverse. MaaS providers can offer a turnkey solution that enables companies to quickly and easily enter the metaverse, without the need for in-house expertise or resources.
Simplified Example
Metaverse-as-a-Service (MaaS) can be compared to a big toy store. Imagine you want to play with a lot of different toys, but you don't have them all at home. Instead of buying all the toys you want, you can go to a big toy store where they have everything you need.
In the toy store, you can choose from many different types of toys, like dolls, cars, games, and more. The toy store has experts who can help you find the toys you want, and they also have all the tools and accessories you need to play with the toys.
In a similar way, MaaS is like a big virtual toy store for companies. Companies can choose from many different services, like creating their own virtual world, creating digital assets, and more. MaaS providers are like the experts in the toy store, and they have all the tools and services companies need to participate in the virtual world called the metaverse.
By using MaaS, companies can focus on their own business and let the experts handle the virtual world-related services. This way, they can play in the metaverse just like you can play with the toys you want in the toy store, without having to worry about buying all the toys and tools themselves.
History of the Term "Metaverse-as-a-Service (MaaS)"
In 2017-2018, the term "XaaS" rose to prominence, encapsulating "Anything-as-a-Service" models, delivering tech solutions through cloud-based services like SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. By 2019-2020, blockchain startups delved into using blockchain for virtual worlds and digital assets in the metaverse. In 2021, the term "Metaverse-as-a-Service (MaaS)" likely emerged, extending the XaaS framework to the metaverse realm.
Examples
Decentraland: Decentraland is a metaverse platform that allows users to create, experience, and monetize content and applications. It uses blockchain technology to provide a decentralized virtual world where users can own virtual land, build and customize their own virtual spaces, and interact with others in real-time.
Somnium Space: Somnium Space is another metaverse platform that provides users with a virtual world where they can buy and develop their own virtual land, build and furnish virtual homes, and create and share experiences with others. It offers a range of tools and features to help users create and experience a fully-realized virtual world.
The Sandbox: The Sandbox is a metaverse platform that allows users to create, experience, and monetize their own virtual worlds. It provides a user-friendly platform for creating games, applications, and other experiences, and it also offers a virtual marketplace where users can buy and sell virtual goods and assets.
These are a few examples of metaverse as a service platforms. Each one provides a unique and immersive experience for users, and they all offer the ability for users to create, experience, and monetize their own virtual worlds. Whether it's through virtual land ownership, game creation, or content monetization, these platforms offer a wide range of possibilities for users to explore and engage in the metaverse.
Related Terms
Multi Party Computation as-a-Service: A cloud computing service that allows multiple parties to jointly perform computations on sensitive data without revealing any of the underlying data to each other.
Banking as a Service: A term that refers to the provision of banking services through digital channels by licensed financial institutions to non-banking businesses.