The digital parallel universe Metaverse will also play a key role in industry in the future. The German head of Microsoft, Marianne Janik, pointed this out on Monday at the Hannover Messe. The coronavirus pandemic has not only helped the home office and other variants of reorganized working to finally achieve a breakthrough, Janik told the German Press Agency. Many companies have also had to deal with processes in which certain scenarios are run through virtually before they are implemented in production or product development. "This is the industrial metaverse, so to speak."

Janik emphasized that in this industrial metaverse, things can be accomplished that used to be done physically with much greater effort. "For example, you can also determine in advance how you can replace certain components in production that are not available in these times."

According to Janik, the various crises such as climate change and the war in Ukraine are forcing the economy to step up its efforts in the area of sustainability. However, according to a survey conducted by market researcher YouGov on behalf of Microsoft, one in three companies - 31% - have not yet invested in sustainable technologies. "This shows that Good will alone is no longer enough; we have to actually implement things to make sustainability a reality."

Digital modeling of products and manufacturing processes helps to achieve these sustainability goals. At the same time, processes such as the "digital twin" mean that innovations can be implemented and brought to market more quickly.

"We now live in a world in which the topic of risk management plays a completely different role and is much more existential than before," said Janik. It's not just about assessing risks better, but also about looking ahead. "Data can help decisively with this mammoth task." Microsoft is also responding to the concerns of data protectionists who reject the storage of data outside Europe. "We can already limit the storage of customer data to the European area if customers so wish."