Humour

Got your enterprise avatar?

T A Balasubramanian on why enterprises should experiment with virtual worlds, but look for community benefits rather than commerce

Returning, once again, to the hustle and bustle of the Techno Over-exposition of Geeks and Gizmos for Lazy Enterprises (TOGGLE), you Papyrus Bytewala, CIO of Baffle Corporation, are in the jaunty company of Danny DeVito, your CTO at Baffle.

Designed as a biped walking humanoid, DeVito is all attention as he points to a familiar figure. It is an old friend, Nawab Ghoda Ghallstone, Junior, the effusive founder and CEO of Ghallstone Labs, resplendent as ever in a maroon sherwani and a blue turban with a crescent on the top. Ever the showman, he stands with a big grin outside a booth with a large display of a pot-bellied genie with a golden lamp and a blazing headline that reads, ‘Your Own Avatar Baba.’ Underneath is a tagline, ‘He’ll Virtually Transform Your Enterprise.’

“Ah, Papyrus and DeVito,” he booms, rolling over to shake hands. “Did I not tell you that we would be back? Here we have the outcome of my next exciting project. We have put in many months of research to design the world’s first artificial enterprise solution—Ghallstone Virtual Magic.”

“Ah, you mean Mimics 2.0, the virtual reality game you were planning?” you say, recalling an earlier encounter.

“That was the prototype we started with, yes,” the nawab gushes. “But this is a polished and perfected program. Avatar Baba—our patented corporate wizard—is a simple solution for companies like Baffle that may be looking to make their entry into the virtual world with confidence. We encourage our clients to create magic with Baba on their own terms.”

“Hold on, nabob,” says DeVito. “How do we know that Baffle needs anything like this? I mean, I can see that you have a solution, but what is Avatar Baba a solution for?”

“Ah, good question, Danny. I have, as usual, put the horse behind the cart. Well, let me put things in perspective. According to the IT research firm Duckbill & Goose, by the end of 2011, 80% of active Internet users—and Fortune 500 enterprises—will have a ‘second life’, but not necessarily in the popular virtual reality game that is called ‘Mimics.’ As you know, Mimics is a synthetic world, a 3D online simulation where you ‘walk’ slowly or ‘teleport’ instantaneously around in the shape of an avatar—a computer representation of yourself, in any imaginable lifelike form. You can interact—through messaging, voice or video—with others, buy property and create data centers or facilities, join virtual seminars, listen to talks and much more.”

“All right. So what does a game like that do for a company like Baffle?”

“It’s not just a game—it is a corporate interaction space. To quote the Duckbill & Goose report, ‘the collaborative and community-related aspects of these environments will dominate in the future, and significant transaction-based commercial opportunities will be limited to niche areas, which have yet to be clearly identified.’ However, we feel that the majority of large enterprises will find value in participating in this area in the coming years.”

“Ah, so Avatar Baba is all set to take Baffle into the artificial future before it arrives?”

“Well, you will be happy to note that there is already a vast engaged, connected community and support network where there is always something happening, and always something to do. Virtual worlds are not games any more, but neither are they a parallel universe—yet. The initial reaction of many business leaders when faced with virtual worlds is to dismiss them as a mere ‘game’ of no benefit to the company and something to be banned for wasting compute resources and time. But many enlightened CIOs and CTOs see beyond the gaming elements immediately, and veer to questions such as ‘How do we exploit this as a sales channel?’ This reaction is equally incorrect and possibly even more detrimental.”

“Oh. And why is that so? Our CFO, Fin Fina, would want to ask exactly that question,” you say.

“Well, you don’t have all that many of your customer avatars out there already as you might find in the real world,” says the nawab, unctuously. “But believe me; they will all be flocking there in a few years. We have dozens of exciting Avatar Baba variations being put together at Ghallstone Labs. Besides, the rules of the enterprise are still being evolved. Behind every avatar is a real person. Hard-nosed business people—such as Fin Fina—cannot be fooled by the fantasy elements in the virtual world. There are unwritten rules, and expectations for behavior and culture are developing.”

“We enterprise users must consider our corporate reputations, eh? Maintain our poise and mind our language and so on?”

“That’s right, Danny. Many companies have tried putting up their virtual tents on Mimics, but none have converted it into a rocking money-spinning channel. There has been much bickering among the early corporate entries into the virtual world about the showrooms usually being empty and lacking—shall we say—ambience? Of course, a few individuals have earned a decent packet from their virtual world exertions, but most corporations will ‘see minimal revenue gains in the market at this time,’ to quote the same report.”

“We get to test the waters, eh?”

“Exactly. The report recommends that enterprises should experiment with virtual worlds, but not plan massive projects, and look for community benefits rather than commerce. You are asked to find enthusiasts within your enterprise and support them. Understand the implications for access to open virtual platforms from within the enterprise. ‘Despite the concerns within companies,’ they advice, ‘Don’t ignore this trend. It will have a significant impact on your enterprise during the next five years.’ ”

“So we proceed with enthusiasm tempered with caution?”

“Well, you would be surprised at how much you could do with just the enthusiasm already. Imagine greeting your key clients and co-workers in a virtual courtyard, and then have your very own Avatar Baba making a presentation in the boardroom of your state-of-the-art virtual facility. Now imagine saving thousands of shekels on travel, significantly reducing Baffle’s carbon footprint and exploring the next stage of the Internet all at the same time …”

“Seems like a long shot, nabob,” sighs DeVito. “But I do like the idea of Baffle having a genie around.”

“It will be our pleasure, Danny. A clever Ghallstone Virtual Magic engineer will install Avatar Baba for you according to your individual needs. Whether you’re looking for the ‘plaza look,’ or wide open spaces with discreet offices and buildings, we will build your corporate theatre for you in a matter of a couple of weeks. And while the build process takes place, you are, of course invited to sit on Avatar Baba’s shoulder to observe and to comment and to provide feedback …”

“You would, of course, be there, too?”

“Yes, yes. We are right here every inch of the way to help you thrive and overcome the challenges of a brand new medium. You won’t be left with our fabulous new genie wondering what to do next. It is in our best interest that you develop the same passion for the medium that we do, and to that end, we’ll go out of our way to help you. Though training is offered as a premium service, many of the Ghallstone Virtual Magic events are free, and designed specifically to help companies slip painlessly into their new unreal worlds.”

“Of course, nawab,” you say solemnly. “We flesh-and-blood corporate creatures cannot stand too much of reality, can we, Danny?”