Pictured above: Managing Director of Birmingham Science
Park Aston welcoming David Burden of Daden Ltd to the Park with
official ribbon cutting
Daden Limited a virtual worlds solution provider based in
Birmingham UK are pleased to announce their move into new physical
offices at Faraday Wharf within Birmingham Science Park Aston.
For the past five years, Daden staff have worked from home, and
for the last two years as virtual tenants at the Serious Games
Institute in Coventry. However it is in their virtual offices in
Second Life that they meet most of their clients.
"With the recent tripling of our workforce and the increasing
number of blue-chip clients the need for a proper physical office,
in which to really build the team and host corporate clients,
became more important. We are still keen though that staff have the
flexibility to work from home since the carbon reduction potential
of virtual worlds is one of our main areas of focus" says Daden's
Managing Director David Burden.
"Daden considered a number of locations in the Midlands but
settled on Birmingham Science Park Aston due to its central
location, on-site facilities, its technology and entrepreneurial
activities for growing businesses. In addition the Park runs a
Working Neighbourhood Fund and Birmingham City Council programme
called 'Entrepreneurs for the Future (e4f)" providing an excellent
platform to meet other new technology high growth businesses.
Faraday Wharf is also at the head of Birmingham's Digital District
which, as a virtual world solution provider, it is important to be
part of." added David.
David Hardman, Managing Director of Birmingham Science Park
Aston, Daden's new partner and driving force for Birmingham's
innovation agenda was equally excited that Daden had chosen Faraday
Wharf.
"As Birmingham Science Park Aston develops its offering to
support the digital native generation by creating a 'science park
without walls', Daden's approach, based as it is at the interface
between the physical and virtual places, is just the sort of 21st
Century venture we are looking to support. Their business platform
represents the sort of ICT enabled smart way of working that is the
future for the knowledge economy."
More organisations are considering using virtual worlds for
serious business whether its for meetings, training, visualising or
conceptualizing and Daden itself is certainly a believer of
practising what it preaches.
"It was quite exciting once we had decided on a physical office
to use Second Life to recreate multiple virtual copies of it and
determine the configuration of the furniture and the layout of the
room itself. What we originally envisaged as the layout of the
office was quickly dismissed as not being ideal when we saw it
recreated virtually. We also showed what we had done to the our
landlords who have been quick to see the benefit of using this
technology for visualising existing offices and new developments."
says Soulla Stylianou, Daden's Client Director.
Daden will be hosting an official opening in Real Life towards
the end of April but in the meantime have cut the virtual red
ribbon.....