In a fascinating turn of events, Fortune 500 Science & Research firm SAIC, better known for their classified research in and around national security issues, announced today that it had acquired virtual world platform Forterra Inc.
This is a significant move. Forterra, while not as expansive as Second Life commercially, focused on a very specific virtual worlds niche: Closed virtual world platforms for government. So much of government, because of the attendant needs of a bureaucracy to create a sense control around information, requires closed technology systems in order to function and to create a sense of security around their many classified research and training exercises. Forterra offered that. (Second Life now offers this through their Second Life Enterprise client, focused mainly on businesses.)
Forterra, under the leadership of its president, Robert Gehorsam, who will not be making the move to SAIC, focused doggedly on addressing the needs of government in virtual worlds. And it looks like it paid off. (Gehorsam who has not announced plans for his next venture, is a veteran game and Internet communications expert whose experience dates back to the days of Prodigy in the 1980s where he lead their games division and more recently for the Massively Multiplayer World for his work at Sony Online Entertainment the makers of MMOs like EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies.)
SAIC's move demonstrates that virtual worlds, far from flagging, are playing an increasingly critical and integrated role in how we work.
One additional footnote: I think this might be the first example of a corporation buying a virtual world company.
[Welcome BoingBoing readers! Thanks Cory!]
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