IBM develops ‘enterprise Second Life’
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Computing giant is adopting “private” virtual worlds internally as it develops enterprise-ready offering
IBM will host private versions of the online virtual reality world Second Life for corporate use, the company has announced. It will first use these private worlds internally, before allowing customers into the virtual environments.
Employees of the computing giant will be able to move seamlessly between the public instance of Second Life and the private worlds, which will serve as collaboration and teleconferencing portals.
The product is to be launched internally within weeks, but the intention is to develop the system so that IBM customers can also use it. "We see a need for an enterprise-ready solution that offers the same content creation capabilities but adds new levels of security and scalability," he said.
The fact that IBM has stepped in to provide hosting and development for the Second Life tool promises to unlock the potential that many observers believe is presently constrained by the technical and financial limitations of Linden Labs, the company behind Second Life.
The announcement comes just weeks after the company’s founder Philip Rosedale resigned as CEO to become chairman.
Further reading
Serious business in virtual worlds Businesses are exploring the use of virtual worlds for collaboration, for training and for a host of other ‘3D web’ applications.
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