The event technology landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade, and even more so in just the last couple of years.
Consequently, the number of event-focused companies and solutions that have entered the marketplace, from mobile applications to virtual platforms, social media tools to live streaming, has grown quickly. And event-centric applications and devices have become integral to event planning, onsite management and delegate engagement processes.
So how are best-in-class organisations managing this influx of technological solutions, and how are they effectively implementing technology at their meetings and events?
Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and PSAV engaged researchers at Interactive Meeting Technology to study how meeting professionals adapt to event technology and whether they have begun to develop standards and processes that accelerate event-technology adoption.
From that research, here are 10 ways leading companies are managing their technology ecosystems.
- Develop an event-technology posture for the organization, such as ‘try something new, but fail fast,’ or ‘if it works, keep it’. Doing so helps the organisation justify its investments and its failures.
- When selecting a specific technology for the first time, evaluate as many candidates as possible, and use that information to become educated about the technology itself.
- Invite vendors to demonstrate technology even if it’s not currently in the budget or in the purchase funnel. Doing so keeps staff members up to date and keeps vendor relationships active.
- Consolidate the data from all vendors, technologies and internally generated processes into one database or report to analyze a single event or all events in a consistent and actionable way.
- Use independent sources to verify the Internet access and bandwidth capabilities of venues and to assess the needs of customers, rather than relying solely on the in-house Internet provider.
- Confirm with the venue how many other organizations will also be accessing the Internet at the same time as your event.
- Create a consistent and reoccurring agenda item to discuss event technology topics with senior management.
- Review event-technology performance throughout the life cycle of the event rather waiting until it is concluded.
- Create a stable of event-technology subject matter experts— internal or external—who can answer questions and troubleshoot on specific technologies.
- Develop a library of document templates (vendor contracts, RFPs, customer-order forms, etc.) related to event technology.
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The State of Event Technology Adoption, © Meeting Professionals International, 2015