Image source : ExpoPlatform of platforms sharing data between competitive organisers to what would happen if Amazon and Ebay decided to share user data . Emslie is adamant the industry needs to “ drive out the bad players ” and is in fighting form : “ We should be very , very clear – the Barbarians are at the gate ,” he told the audience at the UFI Connects session . “ Are we seriously paying to let the Barbarians in ?” he asked , adding that we are just “ one data breach away from a disaster for our industry ”. Lisa Hannant , group MD of Clarion Events , foresaw plenty of reputational issues even if there were no legal repercussions of information not being controlled by the organiser . “ Being a data controller , whether us or an external party , comes with responsibility .” And she saw reputational risk very much remaining with the organiser . Mark Brewster , Explori CEO , had asked the key organisers whether they felt it was OK for vendors to co-own identifiable customer data . Hannant answered for many with a definite ‘ No ’, saying , in simple terms : “ We don ’ t need to own the highway , but we do need to own our cars that are on the highway .” Even if data ownership issue can be resolved , there remain serious concerns about how well it can be used . Corporates have expressed concerns that the events industry may not be able to deliver the expected benchmarking statistics on event audiences and their habits in any kind of easily digestible form . While there is industry-wide data standardisation in sectors such as medtech , fintech and retail , the events industry appears to struggle . The challenge has prompted event data benchmarking specialists Explori to launch a major industry collaboration to create a solution in the form of VSef ( the virtual standard export format ). By devising an agreed data format for event platforms and organisers , the idea is to create a common language that organisers can use to compare and convert event data for use on their other systems . A key problem is that many organisers have been using more than one VEP and data has inevitably looked different when it comes out of each of those . The challenge of then trying to standardise data from those different formats has presented a huge barrier to analytics , as well as costing time and money to find work arounds . Explori says that all major organisers it approached to pool ideas for improving the situation were receptive and industry associations such as UFI , ICCA and SISO all got involved in producing an initial draft of VSef . To paraphrase the ExpoPlatform manifesto recap : an organiser-led model sees the organiser own the relationship with their customer as data controller , with the technology platform as the processor for the duration of the contract . This information can be used for a single event or multiple events in an organiser ’ s portfolio to make for a seamless journey . In a vendor-led model , it is the platform that can own the direct relationship with your customers and share that data with other organisers .
What is to be done ? It is clear the industry needs to come together to find a common approach , with the support of associations and no doubt the VSef data initiative helping to design the landscape of event data for the future . Maybe it is appropriate to conclude with a warning – from Pinchuk , who says that by giving up control of their data to platforms , organisers could be giving themselves issues in the years to come . Recalling how Google dropped their once-famous motto ‘ Don ’ t be evil ’, she explains that once a company has all your user data , they can do what they like with it . “ Technology platforms can enable competitors with all this amount of data , becoming an event networking platform where all organisers are just renting the place .” As the proposed deal valuing Cvent at $ 5.3bn and LinkedIn ’ s investment in Hopin have recently illustrated , private equity , venture capital and the tech giants themselves are just beginning to flex their muscles in the event space . The question is who has the appetite to join Emslie ’ s crusade before the nature of this business is irrevocably changed ?
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