Event technology
attendees interested in your events
before they commit to paying for one.
Asked to pick out specific platforms
to either recommend or avoid, Surati
is happy to endorse Zoom as a simple,
easy-to-use platform, and thinks that
Microsoft Teams and Skype had some
catching up to do. He notes Facebook
had a Rooms function, and Google
had its Hangouts platform, “both
worth exploring to find out which one
works best for you”, he says and notes
Streamyard had worked well, too. He
does expect the application of
payment aspects to this type of
streaming service changing
dramatically in the foreseeable future
and cautions that the legalities may
seem complicated, as are certain
aspects of encryption. “Even if you’re
charging a premium, anything digital
can be hacked,” he warns.
Events companies don’t necessarily
have the time or resources to fix
these issues alone, so the advice may
be to seek collaboration between
solutions companies and events teams
for creating a solution.
Hallmark Jones also recommends
looking to upgrade staff with new
required skills in-house and, upskill
those with a willingness to learn.
Below right:
Cvent CEO
Reggie Aggarwal
Cvent reduces
headcount by 10%
Event tech giant Cvent, acquired in 2016
by Vista Equity Partners in a record
US$1.65bn deal, at the end of May
announced a major programme of
lay-offs and furloughing of staff.
“As the pandemic initially took hold, we
aggressively pursued multiple expense
reduction measures. Unfortunately, we
have had to follow others in taking the
expense reduction of last resort, reducing
our headcount and furloughing some
employees, a decision we have not taken
lightly,” a Cvent statement said.
Ten percent of the Cvent global
workforce is expected to be impacted by
the round of cuts.
OnAIR to
replace ‘junk
food’ webinars
Australia-based event tech brand
EventsAIR has launched its new OnAIR
virtual/ hybrid event platform for
exhibitions and events following a
turbocharged period of development.
CEO Trevor Gardiner told CMW the
platform had been built in a matter of
weeks with staff working 24/7, as the
company reacted to demand from five of
its largest customers who had been in
contact in “distressed tones” to see if a
virtual/hybrid solution could save their
events against the background of the
Covid-19 outbreak.
“There was an incredible amount of
product development,” Gardiner said.
“We were motivated by getting the
product into the hands of our customers,
but we have built it for the long term.
“It will enable planners to develop new
skill sets and create content and
personalise it. It is not just firing up
Zoom! People doing virtual meetings to
date have tended to be marketers rather
than event planners. Now the skilled
planners can get involved with OnAIR.”
And Gardiner believes that hybrid
events are very much the new normal.
“Virtual events can stand up quickly and
cost effectively.” He also believes webinars
will die out and calls them the ‘junk food’
of the events industry.
OnAIR offers a four-week boot camp
training programme of on-line learning
and the product offers session scanning
for CPD credits for users.
“OnAIR is modelled on the real
events world,” said Gardiner who
cautions buyers to be wary of
e-products that offer virtual exhibitions
‘open all hours’. “They need to mirror
the real exhibition world. Don’t go for
technology that has been dusted down
and recycled for use in a Covid world.
You need to smell under the hood!”
EventsAIR’s 6th Gen, meanwhile, was
recently named the best Event
Technology Solution of 2020 at the
Software & Information Industry
Association (SIIA) CODiE Awards.
The mobile, cloud-based system offers
event planners the power to create events
anywhere, anytime and on any device.
The product includes a WYSIWYG
Website Builder with a range of
pre-defined templates, and a Mobile
Attendee app that can be custom-branded.
There are also communication tools for
invitations and marketing emails, and a
Registration Form Builder with a drag
and drop interface.
ISSUE 107 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 15