We’re hearing a lot about the metaverse these days, as new technologies increasingly allow the concept to scale. The metaverse is a continuum.

For High Tech companies, the fast-emerging metaverse means significant business opportunities. After all, High Tech makes the hardware that power the technologies that make the metaverse possible.

But while the projected market for metaverse-related hardware is substantial, High Tech companies should look beyond their core business. There are billions of dollars in untapped market potential up for grabs in building the platform and designing the experiences that support the metaverse. High Tech companies should target these markets for new growth opportunities.

Doing so will require High Tech to explore new roles in the value chain. They need to look for ways to invest in new capabilities, or use existing ones in different ways, to expand beyond their core hardware business to potentially more-lucrative segments of the metaverse.

To identify new points of entry along the value chain, High Tech companies need to start by answering three key questions:

1. Where in the value chain are the greatest revenue and ROI opportunities?
2. How close are these opportunities to the core business?
3. What impact, if any, would these investments have on the company’s brand and core business?

The metaverse is poised to become the next big wave of technology innovation. And, like previous waves, High Tech companies are uniquely qualified to help drive and benefit from it. They just need to think more creatively about how to do it.