ProtonMedia

ProtoSphere is Headed to Live TV

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:14:09 PDT

I’m extremely excited to announce that I’ll be one of the featured guests on this month’s Information Week - Valley View live online TV show.

InformationWeek Editorial Director Fritz Nelson and UBM TechWeb Chief Content Officer David Berlind have created a live-streaming video show to get inside companies, demonstrate the newest technologies, and rip apart the most compelling topics in the valley.

ProtonMedia was asked to join the April show (scheduled for April 24th) and it really is a great opportunity for us.

You can see past sessions at the Valley View site (I’ve watched a number of them and Fritz & David do a fantastic job).

Joining me on the show is a powerhouse line-up including: SAP's SuccessFactors – CMO, Kara Wilson, ARM - Lead Mobile Strategist, James Bruce, DataSift – CEO, Rob Bailey, and Zynga - CTO of Infrastructure Engineering, Allan Leinwand.

I’ll be doing a live demo of ProtoSphere and you can register here to see the event (it’s completely free!).

Hope you can join us! And remember, we will be live…so anything can happen.

- Ron

Living in Orlando

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:05:04 PDT

The past 2 weeks have sure been busy for everyone here at ProtonMedia. We’ve been to 2 events over the past 10 days both in Orlando Fl. We were at both Enterprise Connect and Team Polycom.

Each time through the Orlando airport, I tried to avoid being held up by a large mouse, who tends to be quite skilled at taking money from the innocent ; ) I am happy to report, we survived the ordeal!

Both events were really great! Enterprise Connect is an event dedicated to discussing communications that transform business and we were able to demo ProtoSphere to a huge number of prospects. We also presented at the Microsoft booth, which was a great experience and drove a lot of traffic through each of our locations.

Our second event was Team Polycom. We were invited to exhibit by Polycom and got a chance to work with one of the most important Lync partners (Thanks Polycom!).

Thanks again to both Enterprise Connect and Team Polycom…both of you really know how to put on a great event.

- Ron

ProtonMedia is up for an Award!

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:42:34 PDT

We are honored to announce that ProtonMedia has been selected as a finalist for the PACT Enterprise Awards.

ProtonMedia is nominated for 'Technology Startup Company' for 2012.

The awards ceremony is on May 3rd, so keep your fingers crossed that we will be adding another trophy to the shelf!

Thanks to PACT for selecting ProtonMedia as a finalist.

- Ron

Thank You MedCity News

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:12:47 PDT

I recently spoke with MedCity News and we had a great conversation.

The title of the article is, "Welcome to the Matrix: Using Virtual Reality to Develop Global Clinical Trials"

Even though we can't quite dodge bullets in ProtoSphere (yet!), there are a number of really cool applications for 3D Immersive Technologies including global clinical trials.

Thanks again MedCity News!

- Ron

Thank You TMCnet

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:08:30 PDT

I want to thank TMCnet for publishing this article on their site:

http://unified-communications-software.tmcnet.com/topics/unified-communications-software/articles/279293-driving-collaboration-learning-the-enterprise-protosphere-20.htm

- Ron

ProtonMedia to Present in Microsoft's Booth at Enterprise Connect 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 06:52:46 PDT

Hey now, we are headed to Orlando for the Enterprise Connect 2012 conference!

If you are not familiar with this show, it is the hot Unified Communications gathering of the year, and many of the top technology vendors will be showing off their new stuff..

We will be showing our new stuff, ProtoSphere 2.0, at our booth (#310).

We are also very excited that Microsoft has asked us to showcase ProtoSphere at its booth, #816.

We’ll be posting news from the show floor here, next week.

Hope to see you in Orlando!

- Ron

Chatting with CEO IntroNet

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:42:59 PST

Last week I spent some time with CEO IntroNet. I spoke with Patti Owens about ProtonMedia, my opinion on partnerships and even a little bit about my guitar obsession : )

CEO IntroNet has posted two different conversations that Patti and I had. The first is a short overview of ProtonMedia and touches on our success with PPD and the published case study that Mircosoft did on us.

The second is an industry roundtable with Tom Connolly the President of BizTech regarding our differing opinions on the value of technology and strategic partners.

It was a great afternoon and I really want to thank Patti for her time.

- Ron

Why Off-Sites Should Go Virtual

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:33:22 PST

This is a very interesting article from HBR. HBR Post

Give it a read and let me know your thoughts.

- Ron

ITExpo East - Another Great Event

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:21:37 PDT

I spent some time last week at ITExpo East. It was a great event and I left with some wonderful new bits of knowledge.

I also had the opportunity to present at the event with a great panel of individuals. Our topic was: “Beyond travel avoidance – the real value of HD videoconferencing and collaboration” and it was an awsome experience.

One of the true highlights of ITExpo East was a wonderful interview with Susan Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor, regarding "Leveraging the Power of Social Collaboration". It was a great conversation and I want to thank Susan for her time and article!

This was a big show for us as we also announced (and demoed for the first time) ProtoSphere 2.0! ProtoSphere 2.0 has been a significant undertaking for ProtonMedia, and I could not be prouder of what our team has accomplished with this release. We have believed for some time that meetings alone are not real collaboration.

ProtoSphere 2.0 is an extraordinary combination of a 3D immersive environment, a deep unified communications platform, the power of social networking, and the functionality of a next generation e-learning platform, all delivered in a cost-effective cloud offering. This holistic blend of content with context will bring new levels of efficiency and creativity to knowledge-focused industries.

I look forward to sharing it to all of you!

Ron

ProtonMedia Announces ProtoSphere 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:36:38 PST

I'm very excited to announce ProtoSphere 2.0!

I wanted to share this press release with all of you.

LANSDALE, Pa.—January 26, 2012—ProtonMedia has introduced ProtoSphere 2.0, the company’s immersive business collaboration environment for the enterprise. ProtoSphere 2.0 is an innovative approach in immersive, social, learning and collaboration for global, multi-national enterprise organizations in life sciences, health care, insurance, consumer products, high-tech, energy/manufacturing, and other vertical markets. Organizations can now create an always-on virtual workspace where, at any moment, they can bring together the right people from around the globe and their content to increase the speed and effectiveness of knowledge transfer, learning, and social engagement and provide context to business-critical information.

ProtoSphere 2.0 includes major new features, including:

Deeper integration with Microsoft Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) offerings – Lync Server 2010 and SharePoint 2010. ProtoSphere 2.0 features Lync presence extending throughout the virtual immersive environment. This includes contact cards, voice conferencing, text messaging, enterprise-wide IM integration, application sharing, and the ability to invite individuals to join you directly in ProtoSphere with just a single click. ProtoSphere 2.0 also has compatibility with Microsoft Office Communicator.

Enhanced integration with Microsoft SharePoint 2010. ProtoSphere 2.0 includes integration with enterprise SharePoint 2010 deployments for native content storage and full read/write access to document libraries. SharePoint enterprise social networking via MySite profiles can be tied to each collaborator’s avatar in a ProtoSphere immersive engagement.

Enhanced Media Boards. New multi-content media boards within the immersive environment encourage dynamic presentations of live and stored content from multiple-sources, simultaneously, each with its own information format. All media boards can be co-viewed and discussed interactively by collaborators in a virtual social engagement. Media boards can be used to post and update content for brainstorming, forecasting, onboarding, business strategy, product development, and focus-group collaborations. Supported formats include popular Microsoft Office file-types used by PowerPoint, Word and Excel, text and image content, broadcast or stored video feeds, Adobe .pdf and Adobe Flash interactive, and any application that can run on the desktop.

Build Your Own World. Administrators and virtual session organizers can now choose their own immersive rooms and spaces and monitor permission and access to meet their specific needs on demand. This provides the ability to select from a wide range of virtual room sizes, layouts, styles, and the number and arrangement of media boards, note boards, and SharePoint boards.

Greater Moderator Controls. Moderators now have the ability to lock rooms, restricting access when meetings are in progress, and lock content within a location. Moderators can also proactively send individuals to specific locations enabling breakout meetings for corporate learning/training sessions.

An Updated UI. ProtoSphere’s new application interface focuses on the end user, removing any unnecessary clutter and providing the most immersive experience possible. A new action bar provides contextual navigation elements when needed without taking up valuable real-estate on the interface. And existing Microsoft Lync users will find familiar interface elements of that platform.

Usage Reporting and Monitoring. ProtoSphere administrators are provided the ability to run usage reports anytime they require from a simple-to-use web interface. This enables them to track the amount of time spent in different locations and overall product usage.

Secure Authentication with Federated Services. All authentication in ProtoSphere is now accomplished via a federated relationship with a trusted identity provider. This allows users access into ProtoSphere without the need to create additional accounts, and frees IT and network administrators from the burden of managing a separate user store.

“ProtoSphere 2.0 has been a significant undertaking for ProtonMedia, and I could not be prouder of what our team has accomplished with this release,” says Ron Burns, CEO of ProtonMedia. “We have believed for some time that meetings alone are not real collaboration. ProtoSphere 2.0 is an extraordinary combination of a 3D immersive environment, a deep unified communications platform, the power of social networking, and the functionality of a next generation e-learning platform, all delivered in a cost-effective cloud offering. This holistic blend of content with context will bring new levels of efficiency and creativity to knowledge-focused industries.”

ProtoSphere 2.0 is available via ProtonMedia direct sales and select systems integrator partners and can easily be deployed within any organization through either a cloud-based SaaS offering or a traditional on-premise installation. Call 215-631-1401 for sales information.

For more information on ProtoSphere, please visit ProtonMedia’s website or blog.

To download a free demo of ProtoSphere, please visit ProtonMedia’s website.

Dr. Tony O'Driscoll Joins Our Advisory Board

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:43:22 PST

I would like to welcome my good friend, and mentor, Dr. Tony O’Driscoll to the ProtonMedia advisory board.

LANSDALE, Pa —January 5, 2012 – ProtonMedia, the developer of ProtoSphere, the immersive social learning and collaboration cloud environment, today announced that Dr. Tony O’Driscoll has joined the company’s Executive Advisory Board. O’Driscoll is currently a Professor of the Practice at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business where he teaches and conducts research in the areas of strategy, innovation and technology management, organization learning, services management, and management consulting.

As a member of ProtonMedia’s Executive Advisory Board, O’Driscoll joins executives from Microsoft and Polycom in providing the company’s management team with expertise and counsel on industry partnerships, business development, and overall corporate strategy.

“I have spent much of my career working and researching the areas of organizational learning, knowledge management, change management, business strategy, technology disruption and corporate innovation,” says O’Driscoll. “ProtonMedia is uniquely positioned as a key driver of ROI for these business sectors. Through the marketing and development of its Protosphere immersive social learning and collaboration cloud environment, ProtonMedia has created the need for virtual collaboration technology in the enterprise and I’m looking forward to help shape such a forward-thinking organization.”

O’Driscoll is an accomplished author and has been featured in top publications such as Management Information Sciences Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, Performance Improvement Quarterly and the Journal of Product and Innovation Management. O’Driscoll is also the author of “Achieving Desired Business Performance,” a comprehensive study of the application of Human Performance Technology and “Learning in 3D: Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration,” which examines the impact of the emerging immersive Internet on organizational human capital practices.

“I’ve worked with Dr. O’Driscoll for a number of years and have followed his thought leadership for even longer,” says Ron Burns, CEO of ProtonMedia. “I’m extremely honored to have him sit on our advisory board and bring his innovative thinking to our company. He provides a unique view on the market and the needs of enterprise organizations and will be invaluable to the future success and growth of the company.

ABOUT PROTONMEDIA
ProtonMedia is the developer of ProtoSphere, the market-leading immersive social learning and collaboration SaaS cloud for the enterprise. ProtoSphere’s virtual immersive environment provides an arsenal of business-focused collaboration and communication tools that help companies accelerate decision-making and raise productivity, improving workplace performance overall. The company is a Gartner “Cool Vendor in the High-Performance Workplace” for 2010. Its customers include some of the world’s most respected brands, including AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck Inc., BP, Chevron, Duke University, Deloitte, TIAA-CREF, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing. A trial version of ProtoSphere can be downloaded at http://protonmedia.com/trial-download/. For more information, visit www.ProtonMedia.com.

Thank You CNNMoney

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:42:54 PST

I'd like to send a very big THANK YOU to CNNMoney for featuring ProtonMedia as one of the "12 Entrepreneurs Reinventing Health Care".

We are very proud of our work in Health Care (and many other fields). If you missed it you can read the article here.

Thanks again CNNMoney!

ProtonMedia featured in SmartCEO Magazine.

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:02:42 PST

I would like to thank SmartCEO for featuring me in a recent article.

We spoke about the challenges of starting a business, specifically the topic of raising capital.

It was a great experience speaking with SmartCEO and I can't wait to do it again!

Thank You Microsoft

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:44:52 PST

We would like to thank the folks at Microsoft for publishing a case study about the use of ProtoSphere Lync Edition, at PPD.

PPD is experiencing some very positive results from using ProtoSphere. Give it a read, it is full of some very interesting metrics.

Also a big thank you to PPD for taking part in this case study. It it very insightful.

A Double Dose of ProtoSphere 2.0 Feature Peeks

noreply@blogger.com (Dom Naccarato) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:39:05 PST

We are so excited that ProtoSphere 2.0 is right around the corner. I love creating these feature peeks because it allows me to share all of the cool new features in ProtoSphere with all of you.

This time I'm doubling up on peeks! So be sure to check out both videos.

The first one shows the new capabilities we're providing to moderators within the environment:

And for those of you who need customized spaces, we're now offering a way to "Build Your Own World":

Keep a look out... more feature peeks are on the way!

Thanks to AlwaysOn for naming us to their top 100 list

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:25:30 PST

I would like to send a very big "Thank You" to AlwaysOn for including ProtonMedia in their Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic 100 Top Private Companies listing. We are certainly proud to win this award!

The awards were given to organizations that are challenging established players and creating new solutions that will help change the way we do business.

ProtonMedia has been working to change the way organizations meet, collaborate and learn. A good percentage of the knowledge workers in our economy, who benefit from this kind of environment, are located here in the Mid-Atlantic region. It's great to see the venture community, and the number of start ups from this area, move the market and achieve this kind of recognition.

To view the entire list of the AlwaysOn Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic 100 Top Private Companies here.

ProtoSphere 2.0 Feature Peek – Lync Integrated Conversations

noreply@blogger.com (Dom Naccarato) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:41:04 PST

We all use instant messaging – no surprise there. The challenge for many virtual environments is how to bridge the gap between the messaging that takes place in the virtual environment, with the messaging that takes place outside of it. We think we’ve come up with a good solution for this problem, utilizing our deeper integration with Microsoft Lync.

In this video I show off the new capabilities of ProtoSphere 2.0, where people not only have that ability to communicate with each other beyond the confines of the virtual environment, but are also able to quickly and easily escalate their conversations into full collaborations within the environment.

Check it out below.

Be sure to let me know what you think by leaving comment!

ProtoSphere 2.0 Feature Peek - New User Interface

noreply@blogger.com (Dom Naccarato) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:14:54 PST

I can't tell you how excited I am to announce that ProtoSphere 2 is right around the corner. There are so many new features in this product and I can't wait to share all of them with you.

Since ProtoSphere 2 has so many new functions, I'm going to do a series of peeks over the next couple of weeks.

This first feature peek focuses on our enhanced user interface for ProtoSphere 2. You will get to see all of the ehancements that we made to the toolbars, menus, people lists, 3D window and the new ProtoSphere action bar.

I don't want to spoil everything here...so click the picture and see ProtoSphere 2 in action.

As always, take care, and I'll see you in world.

Dom

Collaboration Takes Many Forms

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:45:54 PST

I ran across this article about Bell Labs today and it was very interesting. Bell Labs is a very forward thinking organization and they are looking at the value of persistence and serendipity in remote work.

ProtonMedia has discussed both of these topics a number of times and noted that persistence and serendipity are only possible when you move your idea of collaboration away from time-bound events and start thinking about the value of always-on virtual spaces. These limitless virtual spaces connect people over both distance and time.

I may be slightly jaded, but I believe that this can be done more effectively in collaboration software like ProtoSphere, but it is interesting how one might solve the same challenge with a Telepresence Robot. Check out the Bell Labs blog and read what they are saying by clicking here.

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 05:38:31 PST

Congratulations to our friends at PPD for being Named Best Contract Research Organization and Honored for Best Technological Development in Clinical Trials.

If you missed it, this came over the wire late last week:

WILMINGTON, N.C., Nov 04, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. today announced it has been named the best contract research organization by Scrip Intelligence, which also has honored PPD for deploying the best technological development in clinical trials.

Scrip presented both awards to PPD at the seventh annual Scrip Awards ceremony on November 3 in London. PPD was recognized for its expertise and innovation in helping clients develop life-changing medical treatments. The judging panel called PPD "a great organization -- open for new approaches, even more for driving new technologies."

"At PPD, we share our clients' passion for delivering new therapies to help people live healthier lives," said Raymond Hill, chief executive officer of PPD. "These awards pay testament to the hard work, dedication and inspiration that our employees deliver every day to provide exceptional client service. We are committed to delivering consistent high quality, innovative ideas and forward-focused technologies that help our clients achieve their vision."

Launched in 1985 as a one-person consulting firm, today PPD is one of the world's leading contract research organizations. PPD has worked with 49 of the top 50 pharmaceutical companies to speed the delivery of life-changing therapies to people in need.

Scrip also recognized PPD's innovative technology solution, created in collaboration with Microsoft Corp., that improves the efficiency of managing Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) programs mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Designed to improve patient safety, REMS programs help ensure the safe distribution and administration of certain marketed drugs.

The PPD REMS solution is a first-of-its-kind technology platform that integrates, manages and tracks all REMS resources, data and information. It is based on the Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System, a data aggregation platform that gives healthcare professionals access to the information they need when they need it, and Microsoft HealthVault, a personal health application platform that lets consumers gather, store and share health information online.

"PPD's technology focus is to deliver solutions that provide meaningful advances for our clients," said Mike Wilkinson, executive vice president and chief information officer of PPD. "Our REMS solution builds on PPD's extensive strategic, scientific, operational and regulatory capabilities in designing and implementing comprehensive REMS and risk management programs."

The Scrip Awards acknowledge achievements across a broad range of areas in the pharmaceutical industry. Attracting hundreds of industry professionals from the world's leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the awards have become a distinct mark of superior achievement. Pharmaceutical, biotech and contract research organizations compete for awards in 15 categories, which are decided by an expert panel of judges.

Scrip's recognition is the most recent in a series of awards PPD has received this year. PPD earned the number one spot among contract research organizations in the 2011 CenterWatch global site survey. PPD also was named to the 2011 InformationWeek 500, an annual list of the most innovative users of business technology in the United States. In addition, PPD and ProtonMedia won a Microsoft 2011 Life Sciences Innovation Award for PPD(R) 3D, a virtual, collaborative environment improving the cost-effectiveness, speed and quality of training for clinical research associates.

About PPD
PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development and lifecycle management services. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 44 countries and more than 11,000 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help clients and partners accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics and maximize the returns on their R&D investments. For more information, visit www.ppdi.com.

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions, including statements, expectations and assumptions about PPD in relation to the Scrip Awards, contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although PPD attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based and could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Other important factors which could cause future results to differ materially include the following: overall global economic conditions; economic conditions, research and development spending, and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and government-sponsored research sectors; consolidation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; competition in the outsourcing industry; PPD's ability to win new business; loss, delay or modification of large contracts; higher-than-expected cancellation rates; the rate of conversion of backlog into revenue; actual operating performance; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; the ability to attract, integrate and retain key personnel; risks associated with and dependence on strategic relationships; risks associated with acquisitions and investments, such as impairments and integration, including PPD's investment in Celtic Therapeutics; rapid technological advances that make our services less competitive; risks associated with fixed price contracts and cost overruns; compliance with drug development regulations; changes in the regulation of the drug development process; international economic and political risks; risks that we may increase, reduce or discontinue our annual dividend policy; and the ability to control SG&A spending. These and other PPD risk factors are set forth in more detail from time to time in our SEC filings, copies of which are available free of charge upon request from PPD's investor relations department. PPD assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update these forward-looking statements in the future, except as required by applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing PPD's estimates or views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.
SOURCE: Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc.

Microsoft & ProtonMedia Hosting Innovation Event

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:09:55 PDT

As the Life Sciences industry looks to reinvent itself in the wake of slowing industry growth and other macroeconomic stresses, the move to transform fixed costs to variable costs has become common place. It's a great strategy - but how do you execute on that strategy?

The clinical trial is one of the most important and complex areas where we see this trend emerging. The pain point is so acute, and the stakes so high, that we are encouraged to see this component of the Life Sciences industry leading the way in fostering innovation, specifically the Virtual Clinical Trial.

A number of our partners have expressed that the Virtual Clinical Trial is one of the hottest topics in the industry today, and that was reinforced at this year's Partnership in Clinical Trials event. At that show, the buzz was focused almost solely on Virtual Clinical Trials. Also at that show, ProtonMedia announced a strategic relationship with one of the leaders in the CRO space - PPD.

In addition to PPD, we have also been participating in the Pan-Asian Clinical Trials Association (PACRA) with some very positive results. And finally, Microsoft is providing a great set of solutions to support this industry change.

Join us, for an in-person event, at the Microsoft Technology Center in Malvern, PA to discuss and explore these trends. The session is titled, "Innovation in Clinical Trials" and will be held on December 7 from 10am-12pm EST. with lunch immediately following.

The session will feature several life sciences executives, including:

- Les Jordan, CTO - Microsoft Life Sciences
- Mike Wilkinson, CIO - PPD
- Steven Bukvic, Executive Director - Merck MPI
- Lisa Clune, CEO - Kaplan EduNeering
- Sam Batterman, Technology Strategist - Microsoft Life Sciences
- Ron Burns, CEO - ProtonMedia

Seating is limited! Register online now - Click here!

Why learning departments should 'collaborate like crazy'

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:48:52 PDT

Writer Rama Ramaswami recently penned an article for Campus Technology about four ways to make the most out of virtual environments. Her points are worth a look, and one in particular deserves some more exploration. She recommended to "collaborate like crazy."

You're probably all too familiar with the budget cuts that have sliced through learning and training departments at life sciences companies in recent years. But as I've talked about before, learning is not a black hole that you throw money down. It's a crucial vehicle for transferring knowledge among organizational teams to drive innovation and execution.

That naturally requires tight collaboration between employees. So when it comes to developing learning programs using virtual environments, collaboration is a crucial to facilitating knowledge transfer and bringing context to content.

Employees should be able to interact and engage in formal training sessions, as well as attend ad hoc, one-on-one meetings according to their business needs and scheduling realities. They should be able to, as Rama put it, "collaborate like crazy."

I wrote a bit more on this in the comment I left for Rama, so hop over for her article and the rest of my thoughts. What do you think about this notion?

Life sciences PLM needs to start earlier, go longer, and be more collaborative

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:11:12 PDT

PharmaVOICE's October cover story is worth a read for anyone in life sciences, especially if you're involved in product life cycle management (PLM). The story, "A Changing Market Environment Requires New PLM Strategies," drills into some of the latest thinking and analysis about PLM strategy and coping with the ongoing challenges of pipeline maintenance.

Writer Robin Robinson featured insight from five industry sources, including Rob Bazemore, President of Janssen Biotech; Chris Bogan, CEO of Best Practices; Andrew Hunter, Senior Manager of Kalypso; Mike Rea, CEO of IDEA Pharma; and yours truly.

(By the way, I was excited to see the editors published a photo of me with one of my six strings in the table of contents. Rock on.)

I encourage you to grab a copy of this month's PharmaVOICE or flip over to the digital edition (page 8) to read the piece.

Find out the three major themes Robin distilled from our collective insight, and what it means for your PLM strategy as we prepare for 2012.

New benchmark report compares 33 virtual environments

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:16:29 PDT

You might be surprised to learn that there are 33 virtual environments out there. The fact that there are shows this is a vibrant and competitive market, with technologies that can have many possible use cases.

But how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? Well one researcher who's done that is Sami Ahma-aho from the Business, Innovation, Technology (BIT) Research Centre at Aalto University in Finland.

He's part of the research team for the Professional Collaboration and Productivity in Virtual Worlds (ProViWo) project. The ProViWo team is studying how virtual worlds can be used for professional collaboration, and if virtual worlds can enhance productivity in globally distributed teams. You might recall we interviewed his colleague, Petra Bosch-Sijtsema, twice last year about it.

ProViWo has since been moving along. Sami led the latest phase where the team looked at 33 virtual environments that, according to the researchers, can be used in professional contexts. Since Sami's in Finland, we took a new route to interview him using Skype. Hit play to hear about what the researchers have found.

Sami and his team have published their findings in a benchmark report, "Benchmark of 3D virtual environments." ProtoSphere was one of the environments the researchers studied, and cited it as a technology that can be used for small collaborative events and large events. I encourage you to read the full report online for your own market understanding, and see what you think of the technologies featured and the researchers' conclusions.

Thanks again to Sami for taking our interview, and his entire team for the insightful work they've been contributing to the industry. Readers, we'll continue to keep you updated on their progress!

TMCnet says ProtonMedia is 'shaking things up with innovative collaborative tools'

noreply@blogger.com (Ron Burns) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:35:17 PDT

Not long after TMCnet's editors posted the interview between its founder, Rich Tehrani, and myself, TMCnet contributor Mae Kowalke penned an article about ProtonMedia's approach to collaborative learning and training.

She pulled out some of the points from my interview with Rich that struck her, writing that we're "shaking things up with innovative collaborative tools to help make meetings and corporate trainings more productive and more fun."

You can read her article in full on TMCnet. Thanks for featuring us, Mae.