Offering prefabricated, reusable meeting spaces located in a variety of virtual worlds, IBM is now allowing selected clients test Sametime 3D, a tool that allows companies to exchange instant messages and chat verbally.

 

Companies all over the world are now looking to reduce travel costs in the gloom of the economy. Technologies such as telepresence and IBM’s (News - Alert) Sametime 3D are helping them save on travel costs by enabling life-like virtual meetings. These technologies not only save companies money, they also reduce their global carbon footprint.

 

Sametime 3D allows participants to literally throw ideas on the wall during a meeting to “see what sticks.” The program also allows Avatars to make presentations to one another, socialize, debate, and examine ideas.

 

“This project is part of IBM's ongoing work to redefine the nature of online meetings," said Colin Parris, IBM's vice president for Industry Solutions and Emerging Business. "The work that takes place during a meeting is hard enough; people shouldn't have to struggle with logistics. Whether through improvements to Web conferencing capabilities or with special offerings such as Sametime 3D, IBM is offering new ways to engage and collaborate.”

 

With the help of IBM's new software, groups can meet on a regular, periodic or impromptu basis in these virtual worlds. They also get reusable meeting spaces, which includes a theater-style amphitheatre, a boardroom and a collaboration space, status updates, town hall-style meetings, rehearsals, training classes, and more.

 

The new software from IBM allows companies to collaborate the way in which they are accustomed by using software they may already have, says IBM.

 

Apart from helping companies to hold face-to-face meetings in virtual worlds, IBM is also helping hospitals to deploy smarter healthcare systems while also improving staff efficiency and reducing medical errors through electronic medical records (EMR).

 

IBM can help deliver smarter healthcare through real-time access to clinical and business information spanning multiple systems.