Is Integration Really Important in a Virtual World?
January 11th, 2010
Is integration really important in an enterprise virtual world application? Are additional applications really warranted when a virtual world is able to provide a full gamut of user experiences? Sure extra bells and whistles are cool but it all depends what the main purpose of the virtual world is – if too much is added to an environment it can quickly become overwhelming for the user. Kind of like purchasing a new car and going for the full “extra” package with leather seats (heated no less), the GPS, satellite radio, fake wood accents and all of the other upgrades offered. Sure it is nice but is it really necessary? Experience tells us that more than likely half of the added accessories will probably never even be used!
Dusan Writer recently put together a little poll of readers for what they’d like to see in Second Life Enterprise (SLE): Data visualization was at the top of the list, followed by: Sharepoint integration, calendar Integration, PowerPoint posting, blog widgets, Yammer integration, integration with JIVE, and in-world company profiles linked to email. Although these are all ‘nice to haves’ are any of these applications really necessary? Or will they just lead to further user distraction?
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