Forterra Systems

Forterra Systems, Inc.
Company type	Private
Industry	Software, Virtual reality
Predecessor	There, Inc.
Founded	1998
Fate	Acquired by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
Headquarters	San Mateo, California, United States
Products	OLIVE (On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment)

Forterra Systems, Inc. was a software firm specializing in 3D graphics, headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company focused on creating secure, private massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) virtual environments tailored for corporate, governmental, defense, healthcare, and educational sectors. Forterra maintained a strong connection with the MMOG There. On February 1, 2010, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) purchased Forterra's simulation and collaboration product portfolio, including all related trademarks, names, and licenses.

Originally established in 1998 under the name There, Inc., Forterra developed private distributed virtual worlds through its OLIVE (On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment) platform, which operated on standard PC server and client systems. Typically, OLIVE environments were integrated into a client’s existing IT and network security frameworks; however, hosting by Forterra was also an option depending on client requirements.

On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment

The OLIVE platform by Forterra allowed clients to efficiently create highly realistic 3D virtual spaces that could scale from single-user applications up to extensive simulations supporting numerous simultaneous participants.

In contrast to public MMOGs like There, Second Life, or Active Worlds, OLIVE environments are privately controlled with access restricted exclusively to designated user groups. The primary purpose of OLIVE is to facilitate secure business collaboration and employee training rather than serving entertainment or broad social networking objectives.

Moreover, OLIVE virtual worlds are designed to mirror actual physical locations instead of imaginary islands or fantasy realms.

The foundational technology for There was developed collaboratively with the US Army, sharing significant components with Forterra’s platform. In 2005, the There service was spun off to Makena Technologies, which has continued operating it through various corporate changes. Since then, Makena has launched two additional versions of There.

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