Gartner analysts, in a recently-released assessment, warned that enthusiasm surrounding online worlds "must be tempered with a realistic assessment of the security and risk-management issues they expose enterprises to." Analysts advised companies sensitive to issues of branding, social and ethical positioning to "exercise particular caution in uncontrolled virtual worlds," citing Second Life as an example to watch, and preferring "heavily moderated, targeted alternatives" such as There, Kaneva and Activeworlds instead.

Gartner analyst and vice president Steve Prentice identified five categories into which major issues facing corporations can be grouped: IT-related security risks, such as the download of unverified apps and issues of firewall permeability; identity authentication and access management, concerning the potential for multiple characters and avatars that make it difficult to verify who a user really is; confidentiality in chat and stored information; brand and reputation risks, and lastly, productivity, which Prentice feels might decline, at least during the initial corporate adoption phases.

“The risks enterprises face as a result of their involvement in virtual worlds are real and can be significant. They shouldn't be ignored — but neither should the potential opportunities and benefits that arise from using these new environments for corporate collaboration and communications,” Prentice said. “When planning enterprise activities in virtual worlds, an enterprise's awareness of the risks, as well as a reasoned and objective analysis of them, will enable it to objectively evaluate the overall situation and offset risks against often-nebulous benefits.”