february2021 - 22

BRIDGING THE GAP

Another Virtual Event?
Not with the Spatial Web
FOR SOME PEOPLE, video conferencing with clients and team members was innovative
and new in April of 2020. Several months into a global pandemic, much of the world has
been using the technology for a while, and people are looking for new ways to immerse

JIM BOOMER, CPA.CITP

CEO, Boomer Consulting, Inc.
Director, Boomer Technology Circle™
jim.boomer@cpapracticeadvisor.com

themselves in virtual collaboration. Enter the Spatial Web.What is the Spatial Web?
The Spatial Web, also known
as Web 3.0, refers to computing
env ironments in a threedimensional space. Perhaps
you've heard of virtual reality
(VR) headsets like the Oculus Rift,
but these headsets aren't just for
gaming anymore.
The next generation of
interfaces will be glasses or even
contact lenses that allow us to
interact with contextual, real-time
information, merging the digital
and physical worlds.
Facebook, Google, Apple and
other major companies are investing
big in these technologies. Tim
Cook predicts that Apple Glasses,
the company's augmented reality
eyewear that is expected to launch
in 2022, will replace the iPhone.
While full realization might be
five to 10 years away, now is the
time for accounting professionals
to understand what this next level

22

FEBRUARY 2021 ■

of computing entails and how to can
create new value for our firms and
our clients.

NOT JUST ANOTHER
VIRTUAL EVENT
Over the past few months, just
about every event you would have
attended in person has gone virtual:
from family holidays to industry
conferences. Unfortunately, the
bar has been set low by the masses.
" Virtual conferences " turn into
all-day webinars. There's little to
no interaction aside from a few
polling questions, so people tend
to check out, responding to email
and carrying on with their normal
workday while the conference
carries on in a side browser.
It's understandable why many
people aren't bothering with them
anymore - unless, of course, they
need the CPE.
For our Boomer Technology

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Circles Summit in August, we were
committed to delivering an interactive and engaging experience to
our members and sponsors. After
evaluating several options, we chose
to host the Summit on VirBELA, a
virtual environment with presentation tools and avatar interactions
that allowed attendees to meet as a
group, break out into small groups
and even have one-on-one meetings
as easily as they could in a physical
space. The event was a huge success, and we've used VirBELA for
internal team meetings and other
events since then.
The Spatial Web will take
such events to the next level. No
matter how interactive we make
online events right now, the
web today is flat. We share and
absorb information through a flat
screen. The Spatial Web will take
advantage of the convergence of
sensors, artificial intelligence,
and interconnected networks to
blur the line between the physical
and online worlds, creating a truly
immersive experience.
The Spatial Web will continue
to grow. But is it the next big thing?
Some tech leaders believe it is for
several reasons:
■ The pandemic accelerated the
adoption of virtual events
■ Businesses are looking for ways to
reduce costs and increase revenues
■ The software is low cost and simple
to install and use
Over the next few months,

we'll see many big businesses
experimenting and implementing
the Spatial Web. Professional
athletics will allow fans to purchase
virtual front-row tickets to see their
favorite teams or even experience
the game from their favorite player's
perspective. Sales showrooms can
send an Oculus headset to their VIP
customers, allowing them to visit
the showroom " in-person " without
leaving their homes. Customer
service and help desk teams will
invite customers into a virtual
space to show them how to use or
fix their products. Companies will
hold " in-person " client and internal
meetings, team workshops and
trainings.
Whether you see these examples
as disruptive risks or opportunities
depends on your mindset, but it's
sure to bring about new service
models, methods for collaboration
and productivity.
For accounting firm leaders,
now is the time to start to research
and experiment with these
technologies. While your clients
might not build their own Spatial
Web, they will likely participate
in it. When your clients inevitably
start experimenting with it, you will
be ready to advise them.
By familiarizing yourself with
the use cases and opportunities
now, your firm will be better
positioned to lead clients instead
of having them lead you. ■
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february2021

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