ProtonMedias VP of Business Development Nigel Downer doesnt have a headshot. He doesnt rock a name-tag or a conference badge because he doesnt go to meetings. Working for an up-and-coming business tech firm, its not like Downer doesnt have face time to schedule. But business travel is expensive and Downer finds it much easier to send his avatar. But this is no blue alien; its a 3-D digital version of himself, which he uses for meetings, presentations, and brainstorming sessions in an open, online meeting space. And, as Lansdale-based Proton unveils their newest tech venture this month, thousands of businesspeople may soon discover the joys of their digital self.
With some systems integration assistance from Wayne business tech consultants at LiquidHub, ProtonMedia created ProtoSphere, a virtual conference center that allows businesses to meet in person while miles apart. Much like the Sims or Second Life, Downers avatar can move, walk and talk with the click of a mouse. The built-in document application allows him to share and present ideas, proposals and contracts with all the other virtual attendees in real time. And since this virtual world never closes, Downer doesnt need meeting schedules or travel dates to share a few ideas.
The real advantage to this type of immersive environment is that its an always on environment so its not something you have to set up or schedule, says Downer. You can collaborate ad-hoc and on the fly so it really gives you the advantage of having pre-scheduled, tent-pole events like training sessions or weekly meetings, as well as the ability to have one-to-one individual meetings on an ad-hoc basis. This provides us with a competitive advantage over already existing tools.
While this technology will likely have numerous applications, LiquidHub and ProtonMedia have targeted the life sciences sector in Pennsylvania as a test market for a technology they believe has a long future ahead.
Life sciences have a number of specific challenges throughout their product life cycle and a very high need to collaborate, says Downer. Pharmaceuticals have a real need to work more efficiently than they have in the past with product pipelines slowing down, and also with a lot of job cuts and travel freezes, there is a need to collaborate in a tight-knit economy and our product helps them do that.
Source: Nigel Downer, Proton Media
Writer: John Steele
