PA Consulting Group and The Sunday Times teamed up in 'Second Life' to explore how virtual worlds' technology is being used to solve some very real-world business issues.
See the film of the event, including contributions from ABN Amro and Cisco, plus the Sunday Times' Dominic Rushe, the paper’s New York correspondent.
Transforming the way we transform our clients
PA's presence in Second Life complements this website in key activities such as recruitment supporting our clients and launching new services and concepts to the market.
In our Second Life office candidates can initially chat to our 'greeter' about PA then – perhaps ask one of our recruitment specialists to 'fly in' and answer some probing questions about career opportunities. All this while the candidate has the comfort of remaining anonymous if they wish.
If you're a client, you may be invited to share our Innovation experts' latest thinking on future technologies such as home automation and energy conservation. Not just hear about it but actually experience it in 3D: operating our 'Smart home's voice-command kitchen gadgets, relaxing while the automated vacuum-bot takes over, and watching the fridge doing its own inventory and replenishment orders …
And that's just the public face of PA's Second Life. There are also private development islands where 3D prototypes of our product designs and real-time demonstrations of new business models are showcased to clients around the world in this unique collective, immersive experience.
Here our clients enjoy instantaneous experience and feedback on our business solutions, such as testing a 3D model of a proposed new retail banking outlet, or literally walking through a marketing experience designed for a global drinks retailer.
How to access Second Life and PA's office
Initial access to Second Life is best done from home on a broadband connection, as it can take up to 40 minutes to set up, and some business networks are not optimised for such use.
Go to www.secondlife.com and create a user account – it's free. You select a user name from a list of last names, and pick a first name of your choice. This name will stick with you.
Then download the client software (around 25Mb), which is available for Windows and Mac. After installation launch the application. You are now able to enter Second life's familiarisation island, where you will create a virtual model of yourself (your 'avatar') and be taught how to control it, before setting off to explore.
To be 'teleported' straight to the island where PA's office is located, follow this link: http://slurl.com/secondlife/PA%20Consulting%20/116/119/27/?title=PA%20Consulting and say hello to our 'greeter', who will be able to help you with any questions you may have.
