German software giant SAP (SAP) may be trimming its headcount, but the company is talking up a new potential market for its complicated ERP systems: Second Life.
SAP Research's Erica Dubach:
"Virtual world retailers have a lot of the same issues as real retailers. For example, they have inventory, they have stock, they have billing, they have suppliers. SAP systems support real-world retailers on these issues and can do the same for virtual world retailers."
Obviously, we don't think SAP is going to be selling much software to Second Life entrepreneurs, nor do we see the upside of modeling SAP's store-inventory experiment in Linden Lab's crash-prone virtual world.
But give Second Life this: While general interest in the virtual world has waned, there remains a cadre of stubbornly loyal users, some of whom are in executive roles at places like SAP, IBM, or top universities. And they're continuing to advocate for and win R&D ventures into Second Life.
See Also: IBM Drinks Second Life Kool-Aid, Makes More For Lotus Users
