Connections eMagazine

IBM's business center for India on the virtual world of Second Life is experiencing a population boom of sorts. The Economic Times reports that customers in India will now be able to interact with live sales avatars, further humanizing their online experience.

The business center on the virtual site is also adding staff in India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, as well as "building" dedicated pavilions for China and Japan. The new staffers join others from North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia already working at the business center.

Avoiding travel
Second Life offers an opportunity for IBM sales people, clients, and partners to meet, learn, collaborate, and conduct business without the time and cost of travel. And customers can visit IBM virtually and see products and solutions in 3D.

"Clients are increasingly looking for convenient ways of interacting with their suppliers," said IBM.com vice-president of India/South Asia Sanjiv R Pande. "We have always been accessible through our traditional web engines with solutions that allow customers to interact and transact with IBM over the Web. We are now taking this accessibility to the next level."

IBM sales avatars help customers interested in buying hardware, software or services or who need help solving a business problem. If the avatars can't solve the issue, they connect the customer to the right IBM expert inside or outside of Second Life.

Sensitive infomation
Contract signings, payment, and the exchange of sensitive information take place by telephone or via the Web.

To learn more, if you are a member of Second Life, you can find out more at the IBM India Business Center.

IBM expands business centre for India in Second Life (Economic Times)