Shriram Group-owned Novac Tech bets big on metaverse

Chennai-based Novac Technologies, a fully-owned subsidiary of Shriram Value Services which is an arm of the Shriram Group, is betting big on technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and the metaverse to enhance its content development products and services. The company, which has a total of about 3,500 employees, has about 80 people dedicated to building these immersive services at its development centre in Chennai.

"We are into custom content development and the world is moving towards VR- and AR-based learning. This prompted us get into the metaverse too," explained Pradeep B, Associate Vice President of Novac Technology Solutions, who was showcasing the company's metaverse prowess at the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex) in Dubai early this month.

The metaverse, popularized by Meta (earlier Facebook), is a VR space where users can interact and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space. Even though the metaverse is in its infancy, businesses have begun using the concept to create a 3D realistic digital world that allows them to purchase, sell goods and services, sign and enforce contracts, recruit talents and interact with customers worldwide.

In March, Novac conducted their 'Rewards and Recognition Program' for NOVAC learning--their digital learning team--in the metaverse in a bid to bring together work from home (WFH) and work from office (WFO) employees under one roof with the creation of animated avatars. Guests could select their avatars to enter the world. Award winners' photographs and names were published on the main screen, and they were called to the stage to share their success stories.

Novac is focusing on catering to companies in the manufacturing sector "where there is a pressing need for such technologies". For instance, Novac Technologies creates digital twins for these firms to replicate physical models in the factories for training across departments including operations, human resources (HR) and administration. "We have been doing this work for about 18 months. The traction is quite good. We are getting a lot of inquiries," Pradeep B said, adding that the company already has "over 50 clients in this space".

Novac, for example, has partnered with a European VR and artificial intelligence (AI) Soft Skills Training Provider called  Bodyswaps to offer VR-based training modules for companies that let their employees take up soft skills training. Bodyswaps uses immersive simulations and AI to empower learners through off-the-shelf library courses that focus on soft skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, and job interview skills.

Novac also uses MR services to offer high-resolution simulations integrated with VR and AR to provide learners an immersive experience. Financial services are already interested in tapping into the potential of the metaverse for branding and product development. For instance, banks are likely to have digital avatars of real bank executives alongside existing AI-powered chatbots to help out the customers during and after office hours, according to Pradeep B.

In India, many companies are asking for an independent metaverse ecosystem where do not need to buy land on public decentralized metaverses such as Sandbox and Decentraland, according to Pradeep B. "We create a metaverse for them which is not public. Indian companies are more comfortable, akin to creating a playstore. We create a metaverse URL for them," he said.

To be sure, ever since Mark Zuckerberg made his 'Meta' announcement last October, insisting that the new identity of his company should be "metaverse-first" and "not Facebook-first", many companies appear keen on diving into the metaverse to get the first mover advantage. 

On Monday, Flipkart announced a metaverse-based shopping platform called Flipverse. A couple of months back, Harsh Goenka-run RPG Enterprises said it is the process of implementing three metaverse projects. Real estate company Hiranandani group, on its part, plans to invest about ₹3,500 crore over the next 2-3 years to expand into the metaverse market. Large Indian IT services companies including Infosys and Tech Mahindra are already building metaverses for their clients. And so are startups like Chennai-headquartered startup Imaginate which is providing Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) with software to enable a 3D metaverse for its employees working on rigs.

But as Facebook's own experience shows, building metaverses is an uphill task since the business models are not evident as yet. 

"Just as users needed websites and domains a couple of decades back, everyone will want their logo and brand. We anticipate a similar rush for the metaverse, and we are preparing for it," Pradeep B explained. He acknowledged, though, that "it may take another 2-3 years for the metaverse to gain some maturity".

And what about the Shriram Group having its own metaverse? Would it be something like Shriramverse.com? "We are planning something but have not finalised any name," concluded Pradeep B.