Second Life Enterprise Beta

On November 4, 2009 at Washington State University, Linden Lab’s Web Content Strategist, Brett Atwood administered a press conference to introduce the company’s newest product offered through Second Life, the world’s leading 3D virtual world environment.
The new product named Second Life Enterprise Beta, which will be introduced to the general public in early 2010, is a program that is designed to work behind the company’s firewall to enable company members to have virtual conferences. These virtual conferences would replace the traditional travel that is required when a nationwide company needs to meet but is unable to afford the necessary costs.
According to Atwood, because of the high cost of travel and a distributed workforce, Second Life Enterprise Beta creates a place for real time voice and gives a place to chat and collaborate. This virtual workplace is an efficient way to connect employees and release information confidentially in secure network.
During the press conference Atwood discussed that many companies have been experimenting with Second Life Enterprise Beta. Some of these companies include IBM, Amazon, NASA, Dell and Cisco. They have successfully held virtual meetings, conducted new hire orientations, introduced team building exercises and recruited new employees.
This program is an investment for companies. Atwood explained that the cost for the program is $55,000, and that the price could go up based on specific requests and needs. This initial cost however, is a small amount compared to the money the company will save by using the online virtual conferencing offered by Second Life Enterprise Beta. Having the online option to hold business meetings from employees desks eliminates the cost of travel for the company.
In addition to the money saving ability of Second Life Enterprise Beta, Linden Lab is making the installation of the program easy for anyone who purchases it. In information released by the company it explains in more detail on proper installation techniques.
“SL Enterprise is a complete business solution and rich experience right out of the box, so you can install the solution and start using it immediately,” Linden Lab said. “The solution comes with 7 pre-built regions including traditional corporate office buildings and meeting spaces, a more whimsical lunar landing collaboration area, and a large amphitheater that can accommodate up to 200+ people in a single meeting.”