Access All Areas Summer Issue | Page 44

SUMMER | SECTOR FOCUS SPONSORED BY: common use of the venue, 200 people seated for dinner will not have the same needs that a 500 person strong tech conference, we know that venues can’t spend that investment on once or twice a year bookings which is why we are there to fill the void. “With today’s utilisation of social media it’s feasible to say that without the access of Wi-Fi an event could not work. Wi-Fi could take a small event global in a matter of minutes but that comes with a cost.” “Just ten years ago event Wi-Fi simply didn’t exist, both the technology and the requirement wasn’t there. now we have cloud-based office services meaning organisers can’t access documents unless there’s an internet connection. Visitors don’t carry wads of cash anymore and thus expect to pay electronically for entrance tickets as well as for products, services and merchandise onsite. “Event Wi-Fi is one of the most important services to the events industry today up there along with power and structures. as most if not all the revenue that pays for the events transits through it. There’s no such thing as free Wi-Fi, you may have free Wi-Fi but somewhere somebody is paying for it.” As well as the obvious benefits, event Wi-Fi can also expose how unsecure visitors’ data potentially is, according to the CEO of event technology supplier Eventscase. Jose Bort’s company has released a White Paper on data security, available for download, which 44 aims to highlight the risk event professionals face from being hacked. A hacker is able to access a device in less than a minute, and once inside can wreak havoc with data, applications, and files. Users are urged to ensure when they are using a website, that they check the certification, by clicking on the padlock symbol to the left of the web address in the search bar. Bort says: “Event professionals, as well as everyone, maybe do not realise the risk. A lot of us are unaware of how unsecure we are online. It’s not to scare anyone, and this threat is certainly nothing new. People will learn some basic things, which affect not only us, but our delegates and our events. Included is a checklist, which event professionals should absorb and talk through with their suppliers to assess their current risk.” Since GDPR legislation came into force in 2018, the need to secure data has never been more ATTEND2IT.CO.UK urgent. Companies can face fines of up to £20m in the result of a data breach. “The organiser [data owner] is ultimately responsible,” Bort adds. “But the duty is shared between them, the venue, and the event technology supplier. Everyone must be clear on their role.” So Wi-Fi is getting cheaper, but people are asking more of it, and developers are only adding to this demand. And, as Bort makes clear, security is also paramount. Something to consider next time you call up your usual supplier. “Event Wi-Fi is one of the most important services to the events industry today up there along with power and structures”