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Linden Lab Adds Behind-the-Firewall Product and Apps Marketplace to Second Life Enterprise Offering
(Market Wire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 11/04/09 --
Linden
Lab®, creator of the virtual world Second Life®, today launched an open
Beta program for its behind-the-firewall product, Second Life Enterprise(TM). In
addition to revealing features, pricing, expected availability and several
open Beta customers, the company is also announcing plans to launch a
marketplace for enterprise applications and virtual goods. The Second Life
Work Marketplace(TM), to be launched in Q1 2010, will enable customers to
further customize their virtual world environments while also creating
additional revenue streams for the company and its Solution Providers. Adding Second Life Enterprise and the Work
Marketplace to its existing work offerings will enable Linden Lab to
service an even broader range of organizations with virtual world solutions
that enhance real life operations.
Already 14 organizations are participating in the Beta program for Second
Life Enterprise. This list includes: IBM, Northrop Grumman, Naval Undersea
Warfare Center, DefenseWeb Technologies, Case Western Reserve University,
The New Media Consortium, among others. Second Life Enterprise enables
these organizations to maximize the investments they've made in Second Life
by moving some or all of their virtual operations and content behind their
firewalls. Combining the benefits of working in Second Life, such as
enhanced collaboration and advanced prototyping, with enhanced security
features and centralized administration will open new doors for simulation,
training, collaboration, innovation and product design.
More than 1,400 organizations around the world, including large
enterprises, educational institutions, government agencies and the US
Military, currently use Second Life to hold meetings, conduct training and
prototype new technologies more efficiently and cost effectively. For
example, IBM held a conference in Second
Life that it estimated was executed at one-fifth the cost of a physical
event, saving the company more than $320,000. Additionally, military
organizations and defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman have significantly reduced R&D costs by moving
design and simulation efforts to Second Life. Organizations now have the
option of using Second Life as a service hosted by Linden Lab, using Second
Life Enterprise as a standalone solution hosted behind their firewalls, or
a combination of both. Second Life Enterprise is built on the same
foundational technology and communication channels -- including spatial
voice (VOIP), text chat and 3D interaction -- and offers an identical user
interface as the main Second Life environment, enabling current Second Life
users to easily migrate to a behind-the-firewall environment.
"The Second Life Enterprise version offers a great combination of
collaboration, content creation and communications tools and resources,"
said Francoise Legoues, vice president of innovation initiatives, IBM. "We
were one of the early adopters of the Second Life platform, and having that
technology behind the firewall gives us the opportunity to expand our use
of the platform enterprise-wide."
Some of the features of Second Life Enterprise Beta include:
-- Runs completely within an enterprise's network thus providing the same
level of security as their intranet. With comprehensive authentication and
access controls, this enables confidential and proprietary information,
prototypes and training materials to be shared securely.
-- Advanced 3D visual, spatial audio and text collaboration tools to
allow workers to easily upload media files, share documents and create
custom content.
-- Seven prepackaged virtual regions, including a four-corners all-hands
auditorium, two conference centers and a number of sandbox regions, where
users can test virtual items and practice building. Also included is a set
of standard business avatars. With a full set of workspaces and avatars,
enterprises can begin using the product immediately after deployment.
Additionally, content owned by the company can be moved from the main
Second Life environment into the Second Life Enterprise Beta environment,
maximizing investments already made in Second Life.
-- Centralized administration that enables enterprises to manage the
entire environment including users, regions and content from one central
location, complete with LDAP integration. Administrators can also allow
Second Life Enterprise Beta users to use their real-life names for their
avatars.
-- Advanced infrastructure that can support up to eight regions
simultaneously and 800 concurrent users in the same immersive environment.
"Virtual Worlds have the potential to provide a safer, more cost effective
approach to some of the Navy's current mission areas. The Naval Undersea
Warfare Center (NUWC) has collaborated with Linden Lab to create a version
of Second Life Enterprise that is secured and meets military grade
information assurance compliance standards -- out of the box," said Douglas
Maxwell, program technology lead for NUWC Metaverse Strategic Initiative.
"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."
The Second Life Work Marketplace, to be launched in the first half of 2010,
will enable customers to further tailor their Second Life Enterprise
environments by browsing, testing and purchasing content from third-party
developers. This will reduce the time associated with training and
implementation, allowing Second Life Enterprise customers to easily
customize their environments based on individual needs and goals. The Work
Marketplace will allow Second Life Enterprise users to leverage the vast
amount of professional quality content developed in Second Life and will
also greatly expand the audience and monetization opportunities for Linden
Lab's Solution Provider program, while adding a distinct revenue channel
for Linden Lab.
"We've worked very closely with our enterprise customers to develop a
solution that would fit seamlessly within their existing networks while
also solving real business challenges," said Mark Kingdon, CEO of Linden
Lab. "Second Life Enterprise Beta is a perfect complement to our existing
work offerings, enabling us to offer a virtual work experience tailored to
meet the specific needs of a broad range of organizations. Additionally,
with the Work Marketplace, Second Life Enterprise users will be able to
take the single biggest advantage of working in Second Life -- the breadth
and quality of content -- and use it in environments hosted behind their
firewalls. The fact that major corporations such as IBM and Northrop
Grumman have embraced Second Life Enterprise Beta is tremendous validation
for the product and our enterprise strategy."
Pricing and Availability
Pricing for Second Life Enterprise starts at $55,000. Linden Lab expects
the beta program to run through Q4 and announce general availability during
the first half of 2010.
The Second Life Work Marketplace is currently under development and a
closed alpha is planned for the end of Q1 2010.
For more details about Second Life Enterprise Beta, or becoming a Second
Life Enterprise Beta Channel Partner or Reseller, please visit:
http://work.secondlife.com or email business@lindenlab.com.
About Second Life and Linden Lab
Developed and launched by Linden Lab in 2003, Second Life is the world's
leading 3D virtual world environment. It enables its Residents to create
content, interact with others, launch businesses, collaborate, educate, and
more. Since its inception, Second Life Residents have logged more than 1
billion user hours and generated more than USD1 billion in user-to-user
transactions. With a broad user base that includes everyone from consumers
and educators to medical researchers and large enterprises, Second Life has
become one of the largest hubs of user-generated content and the largest
user-generated virtual goods economy in the world.
Linden Lab, founded in 1999 by Chairman of the Board Philip Rosedale and
headquartered in San Francisco, develops revolutionary technologies that
change the way people communicate, interact, learn and create. Privately
held and profitable, Linden Lab is led by CEO Mark Kingdon, and has more
than 300 employees spread across the U.S., Europe and Asia.
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Media Contacts:
LEWIS PR for Linden Lab
Tel: (415) 992-4434
Email Contact
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