The metaverse proposes a very different platform to the internet we're using today – and businesses must be ready. That's the key message in a new report from professional services company Accenture, titled Meet Me in the Metaverse. The metaverse is essentially a new immersive version of the internet. Instead of viewing digital content on a computer, we will wear virtual reality headsets to move around 3D digital environments. Here's a summary of the four key trends Accenture says will shape business processes over the next decade, as companies prepare for life in the metaverse. The WebMe trend is about how our virtual lives will be designed to deliver what we expect or want from the metaverse.

With the growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in businesses comes the responsibility to apply these AI solutions in a smart, ethical and economically friendly way. Every new application of the technology brings its own unique challenges, so the need to constantly monitor AI use in business is vital. In light of this, here are five key things to consider when implementing, or even thinking about implementing, AI into your company. Return on investment (ROI) is important, but speed, however, is critical. One common mistake that many organisations make when selecting the first business challenge to solve with AI, is choosing the one that will create the biggest ROI.

Nokia last week said that it was selling off its digital health business, after failing to develop it into a substantial business itself, but this week the Finnish company is announcing an acquisition that underscores how it is doubling down in another one of its business areas, the Internet of Things. Nokia has acquired SpaceTime Insight, a California-based IoT startup that provides predictive analytics based on machine learning algorithms. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed, Bhaskar Gorti, president of Nokia Software, said in an interview. The startup had raised between $50 million and $65 million in funding (based on figures from Crunchbase and PitchBook), and PitchBook last estimated its valuation at just over $103 million in 2016. Backers of the startup included the energy giant E.ON, Novus Energy Partners, Zouk Capital and more.

The digital world has been inexorably marching forward over the last 20 years, providing ever more efficient services to business and the public. Yet, only now is a new technological revolution occurring. Just as the Industrial Revolution transformed the nature of manual work in the late 18th century, AI is set to dramatically change the roles of white-collar workers and the service industry. Chatbots are already a familiar feature in call centres, but now even accountants, lawyers and truck drivers are finding themselves substituted for AI technology. Greater computer power, the availability of huge volumes of data and the fact that digital means of interaction are preferred by consumers have led AI to the point at which it can take off.