Conference News Supplements The Tech Factor Supplement | Page 6

6
Technology
Bridging
needs
The Venue Tech Collective is a new venture which aims
to help venues identify what they need to succeed in the digital age.
Martin Fullard talks to the man behind it: David Young
WE HAVE SEEN
SOME TECHNOLOGY
COMPANIES CREATE
SOLUTIONS
DESIGNED ON ONE
TYPE OF VENUE,
AND AS SUCH WILL
NOT WORK ACROSS
THE BOARD.
avid Young launched
the Venue Tech
Collective (VTC) in
February. A very
familiar face in the events
industry’s all-important technology
scene, having identified a
disconnect in between what clients
need and what is currently being
provided by venues. As technology
moves at an ever-increasing rate, it
can be overwhelming for some
venues to invest vast sums of
money into event technology,
especially when they aren’t fully
sure what it is they actually need to
meet client needs So, what is it all
about?
What is the Venue Tech Collective?
VTC helps venues transform their
event technology to meet and
exceed customer expectations by
guiding them towards the right
technology solution. This may be a
CRM system, Wi-Fi, or website
provider as an example.
We do this through first educating
venues on different options out
there, and how they work. The
second step is to then understand
how the larger industry is adopting
technology, through peer
networking.
The third and final step is
innovation, which sees the venue
apply the new technology.
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In your experience, is there an
inequality in tech services at
venues across the UK?
The venue community is vast, so
what may work for a large
exhibition venue may not be
suitable for a non-residential
conference centre, for example.
There is also an issue around the
buildings themselves. New
buildings are easier to work with
compared to the older buildings, as
with thicker walls things like Wi-Fi
signal can suffer. We have seen
some technology companies create
solutions designed on one type of
venue, and as such will not work
across the board. For instance, if
you take a sports stadium, the
technology solution will fit it best
during match days. However, the
stadium may offer smaller events
or meetings on the non-match
days, meaning the technology may
not be optimised and a further
software is required. The challenge
the stadium faces is how to bring
these two disparate pieces of
software together.
We have seen other cases of
venue managers inheriting
outdated software solutions from
previous administrations, and with
it the associated headaches.
In the current economic climate,
with the significant pressure on
revenues, venues are coming up
with newer, more creative, and
bolder ideas to enhance customer
experience. We not only need
modern technology, but smart
technology that evolves with the
speed of business.
Do you often encounter venues
which don’t know what tech they
actually need?
Yes, quite often. Venues will know
they require an upgrade on an
event management solution, but
where do they start looking? It is
often the case that the challenge is
undertaken by someone without
the technical knowledge, or
commercial knowledge of being
able to identify expert help.
It is easy to favour one solution
or provider that one has used