Imagina 2010: The revolution of management through virtual worlds

Next week (Feb. 3-5) we will be at Imagina 2010 in Monaco to present virtual collaboration and e-learning solutions including Teleplace. On Friday Feb. 5, 9:30 – 13:00, I will participate in the Round table: The revolution of management through virtual worlds.

I look forward to showing how modern online collaborative telepresence tools, which are evolving from 2D videoconferencing to immersive 3D virtual environments with professional collaboration tools, enable new and more productive ways of working and collaborating in our global, fast paced world. And of course, I look forward to see the most recent advances and gadgets in 3D technology for VR.

Virtual worlds find more and more applications in enterprises in order to facilitate and optimize management. Nowadays, virtual worlds are adopted by all functions: Human Resources, Organization, Marketing, Production, R&D, etc. This move is fast and irreversible. According to Gartner Group, in 2012 50 % of large companies will have a virtual world similar to Second Life. Altogether in 2007 these virtual worlds have raised funds in excess of 1 billion $.

And according to the last survey by the American institute Forrester, they should be as important as Internet today. But large corporations are not the only ones to turn virtual, as it is shown by the great proportion of SMEs engaged in the IntraVerse Awards. What we have to name “a revolution in management” is easily explained by what virtual worlds can bring to management: they enable to simulate, to make trials and errors, to free creativity, to telework, to better train and communicate. In short, only advantages!

Français: Les univers virtuels trouvent de plus en plus d’applications dans les entreprises pour faciliter et optimiser le management. Les univers virtuels sont désormais adoptés par toutes les fonctions : Ressources Humaines, Organisation, Innovation, Marketing, Production, R&D, etc. Ce mouvement est rapide et irréversible. Ainsi, selon le Groupe Gartner, en 2012 50 % des grandes entreprises auront un univers virtuel de type Second Life.

L’ensemble de ces univers virtuels ont recueilli l’investissement de plus de 1 milliard de $ en 2007. Et selon la dernière étude du cabinet américain Forrester, ils devraient avoir autant d’importance que l’internet aujourd’hui. Mais les grandes entreprises ne sont pas les seules à basculer dans le virtuel, comme en témoigne la forte représentation de PME aux Prix IntraVerse. Ce qu’il faut bien qualifier de "révolution du management" s’explique aisément par les apports des univers virtuels au management : ils permettent de simuler, de faire des essais-erreurs, de libérer la créativité, de travailler en mode projet, de réduire les investissements, de faciliter la collaboration, de travailler à distance, de mieux se former et communiquer. Bref, que des avantages !

Friday Feb. 5, 9:30 – 13 :00 Round table: The revolution of management through virtual worlds
Moderator: Eric Seulliet, La Fabrique du Futur, CEO d'e-Mergences

With the participation of:
Redwane Bennani, General Director, Newnet 3D
Thomas Burger, Project Manager Service Engineering and ServLab, Fraunhofer IAO
Giulio Prisco, CEO, Metafuturing SL
Greg Rivera, Director, Innovalab
Frédéric Vacher, Director, Alliance & Partnership Programs - Strategy & Marketing, Dassault Systèmes
Jean-François Varinot, E-services Technique Manager, DCNS
Hélène Zuili, General Manager of MakeMyWorlds, Gold Solution Provider of Linden Lab