90% of corporate virtual worlds fail within 18 months

That’s the latest warning from analyst Gartner, which suggests that focusing on the technology, rather than understanding business user requirements, is one of the key reasons for failure. “Businesses have learned some hard lessons,” observes Steve Prentice, vice president and fellow at Gartner. “They need to realise that virtual worlds mark the transition from web pages to web places, and that a successful virtual presence starts with people, not physics. Realistic graphics and physical behaviour count for little unless the presence is valued by a large audience.” Further reasons for the high failure rate, it suggests, include starting projects for the ‘cool’ factor, or because competitors are doing it. Many are closed down or abandoned as a result of a lack of clear objectives and limited understanding of the demographics, attitudes and expectations of virtual-world communities. Meanwhile, Prentice argues that a benefit of virtual technology is the rich collaboration experience it offers by adding a real-time visual dimension – particularly via ‘avatars’ – so interactions can include emotional information in the ‘conversations’ between individuals, setting them apart. They also differentiate themselves from web-based interactions (which can be asynchronous), by requiring both parties to be present at the same time, he says. Just as important, he makes the point that the cost of implementing a corporate virtual platform is also not as great as many think, typically from around $50,000, while trials can start from as little as $5,000. By 2012, Gartner estimates that 70% of organisations will have established their own private virtual worlds, and predicts that these internal worlds will have greater success due to lower expectations, clearer objectives and better constraints.