Brazilian Business Pros Are Ready for the Metaverse

A new study commissioned by Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) found that 92% of Brazilian business professionals would be comfortable using virtual reality to hold formal work meetings, such as for HR.

Brazilian workers' reasons for embracing virtual are different from other Latin American countries. In Brazil, 59% of respondents cited affordability as one of the most important advantages of virtual meetings compared to 50% in Colombia. Respondents in Mexico cited fewer distractions or opportunities for chatter (46%) as a key reason. More than half of respondents across Latin America believe that it is easier to collaborate on virtual platforms than in person.

In Latin America, 81% of respondents said they could imagine their workplace incorporating virtual reality tools, including AR and VR glasses. In fact, 9 out of 10 respondents in the region believe virtual reality would be an appropriate medium for conducting formal work meetings, such as HR meetings. At a country level, Mexico recorded 92%, while Colombia logged 91%.

When asked what type of activity they would use the virtual platform for, 69% of Brazilians surveyed said they would use the metaverse for playing online games, which was the highest percentage among all respondents globally. This activity was followed by shopping (62%), work (60%), and learning/education (53%).

When asked about the drawbacks of using current virtual collaboration tools, 29% of Brazilians worry that they will not be able to read in-person emotions. Respondents in Colombia (41%) and Mexico (42%) had similar concerns. Additionally, 27% of workers in Brazil stated that using virtual collaboration tools was too distracting and 25% mentioned they felt isolated.

"Brazilians are eager to use more immersive virtual platforms for gaming, shopping and business collaboration," said Fernando Capella, Country Manager for Brazil at Ciena. "This presents an opportunity for service providers to ensure their networks are prepared for this disruptive moment by implementing the latest technologies to offer the ultra-low latency and high bandwidth essential to these new virtual platforms."

Despite the growing desire to utilize virtual work environments, network reliability is the top concern when it comes to adoption in Brazil (42%), followed by the belief that their workplace does not know how to implement the technology (40%). Even so, around one-third of respondents in Brazil agree that in the next two years their workplaces will move away from the traditional/static collaboration environment into a more immersive or virtual reality-based environment.

When it comes to creating an identity in the virtual world, 54% of business professionals in Brazil would choose an avatar that reflects their real-world selves, 20% would choose an idealistic version and 13% would take on a different image depending on the setting and the purpose of the meeting.

Note to Editors:
The research surveyed a total of 15,000 business professionals, including 1,000 professionals within each of the following countries/regions: UK, Germany, Norway, Middle East, Australia, Denmark, Japan, Colombia, India, U.S., Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia and Singapore. The study was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Ciena in June 2022.

About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a networking system, services, and software company. We provide solutions that help our customers create the Adaptive Networktm in response to the constantly changing demands of their end-users. By delivering best-in-class networking technology through high-touch consultative relationships, we build the world's most agile networks with automation, openness, and scale. For updates on Ciena, follow us on Twitter @Ciena, LinkedIn, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.

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