Second Life Enterprise Offers New Opportunities for Businesses

Sarah Linker
10952255
Press Conference Assignment
15 November 2009

Second Life Enterprise Offers New Opportunities for Businesses

Businesses can now conduct meetings, events, and training sessions in a virtual, 3D workplace with Linden Lab’s new, firewall product, Second Life Enterprise.

Several organizations have already tested the Beta program that was introduced to the public earlier this month. IBM, Northrop, Grumman, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, DenfenseWeb Technologies and Case Western Reserve University are some of the groups using this interactive environment, according to a Nov. 4 news release.

Brett Atwood, the Web Content Strategist for Linden Lab, said Second Life Enterprise allows companies to cut back on expenses such as travel costs.

IBM saved hundreds of thousands of dollars on a conference that would normally cost the business about $800,000 to conduct in a non-virtual space, Atwood said.

In addition to being cost effective, Atwood mentioned that Second Life Enterprise offers a safe and secure network for its users.

“This is a secure solution,” he said. “An organization can set it up securely and control who has access to these environments.”

In a statement issued by Linden Lab, Douglas Maxwell, the program technology lead for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, emphasized that information shared on Second Life Enterprise is communicated securely and confidentially within the Navy’s network.

“Hosting the Second Life Enterprise on a secured network allows us to conduct training, concept of operations exercises, and collaborative engineering activities using sensitive information in safety,” he said.

Along with training, Atwood said other organizations have utilized this program to recruit employees and conduct new hire orientations.

“Believe it or not this technology has been used to sniff out potential employees,” he said. “Amazon.com actually used Second Life to identify, meet with and recruit engineers and technical leads for their respective organization”

Atwood said the program costs $55,000 and allows up to 800 concurrent users to login and participate at any given time.

With Second Life Enterprise users can also use real names opposed to fictionalized ones, he said.

Atwood emphasized that the program allows for teambuilding and socializing opportunities for all its users.

“If you work in a distant or remote office and you’re interacting with the main office, this is way to simulate that sort conversation that you see in offices,” he said. “It (Second Life Enterprise) enables for that sort of centralized space where people can share office gossip and talk about whatever is going on.”

Even though employees are not able to meet in-person, Atwood said Beta customers can still gain similar benefits.

“People can still collaborate and meet, not exactly the same as face to face, but it offers many of the same opportunities,” he said.

To complement this Second Life Enterprise, Atwood said Linden Lab plans to launch The Second Life Work Marketplace in 2010. This web-based program will allow users to purchase virtual goods and various items from third party developers, Atwood said.

“Linden Lab has been in business for quite a few years listening to and responding to the interests, concerns and needs of the people that have used it,” he said. “These (programs) are just the outcome of that.”