Tech News

Jul 07, 2021
As trade shows begin to trickle back in person as the industry prepares for a deluge this fall, virtual events are going stronger than ever. Take a look at some successful digital gatherings that happened recently:  ASAE With overarching themes of “Do Big Things,” “Lead Big Tasks,” “Take Big Steps” and “Have Big Ideas,” ASAE’s virtual Marketing, Membership, & Communications Conference 2021 focused on the opportunities associations have to move forward with fresh and robust campaigns following a year of rapid changes and challenges.  “MMCC was filled with the sharing of inspiring ideas… more
Event Software Giants Ungerboeck and EventBooking Merge
Jul 02, 2021
Staff of Ungerboeck and EventBooking recently broke bread together in St. Louis. Think of it as a “getting to know you” event with the specific purpose of smoothly combining the forces of two of the event industry’s leading software companies. The merger, announced in May, pools the resources of leading technologies for event and venue management. It is part of a growing trend of consolidation as companies in all sectors seek a path forward in a post-pandemic world and recovering economy. In this case, said Ungerboeck President and CEO Manish Chandak, the real winners will be the organizers… more
Tech News: MeetingPlay Funding, Encore-Cvent and Explori-Evolvio Partnerships; Bizzabo and Event Farm Additions
Jun 23, 2021
Just because in-person events are returning doesn’t mean technology is going to take a back seat. The past few weeks have been filled with news of mergers, partnerships, innovation and the funding to make it all possible. See how the event tech world is positioning itself for the future of gatherings. MeetingPlay Hybrid technology company MeetingPlay has secured $75 million in funding from Sunstone Partners, a growth-oriented private equity firm focused on software and tech-enabled services companies. The move allows for vast expansion of MeetingPlay’s already impressive capabilities.… more
Tech Giant: Cvent Stalwart Anil Punyapu Seeks to Bridge the Engagement Gap
Jun 18, 2021
If you are looking for a pioneer in event technology, it’s hard to beat Anil Punyapu. The senior vice president of sales at Cvent has been with the event registration and software giant since 2003 – or more than three-quarters of its impressive lifespan. Virtual events are nothing new to Punyapu and Cvent, though no one could quite predict what 2020 would bring to the world and events industry. With more than a year under our belts, and the worst of the pandemic seemingly over in this country, Punyapu is looking ahead to a future in which technology and meetings are more integrated. “We… more
5 New Technologies to Help Keep Events Safe
Jun 10, 2021
With the COVID-19 pandemic hanging over the event industry’s head for more than a year now, creating safe in-person meetings and conferences has become a laser point-of-focus for meeting and conference planners. To meet that demand, event tech companies have been rising to the occasion with new and contactless software tools to provide peace of mind for attendees, exhibitors, event staff and planners alike. Here are a few to consider as organizations welcome back groups in person: Konduko Kontactless Launched in 2013, Swiss-based Konduko provides Kontactless Smart Event technologies that… more
Amid the Hybrid Revolution, Confusion Muddles the Discussion
Jun 02, 2021
A large majority of events will have a blend of digital and in-person elements this year. Many event professionals expect this to be the case going forward. After that, there is a mix — or dare we say “hybrid?” — of opinions, confusion and certainty, according to a recent Swapcard survey studying hybrid events. The biggest takeaway is that three-quarters of the 364 respondents say they are planning to have virtual components of their program, but 30% don’t know how to define hybrid events. In part, that’s because there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to accommodating in-person attendees… more
May 26, 2021
Hubb CEO Allie Magyar knows first-hand what it’s like to face gender discrimination and unconscious bias in the technology world. In the early days of the event software company, she remembers being consistently asked to explain how she wouldn’t fail rather than how she would succeed, an over-arching attitude made more apparent by the prevalence of male-led companies able to raise large sums of money while female-led companies struggled to get investors. While she never let the naysayers stop her from turning Hubb into a successful event management platform, she still experiences the… more
Matt Coyne Launches Twigged to Ease Registration Pains
May 19, 2021
Not long ago, Matt Coyne found himself registering for an event. There’s nothing remarkable about that for the U.K.-based industry veteran. It was a show Coyne has attended for 15 consecutive years, and yet here he was basically starting from scratch signing up for a show. Again, this is a relatively common, if aggravating, occurrence among all event attendees. Yet the timing was right that starting over for the 15th time at one event struck a nerve. “I just wanted to register and be done,” he said. With the pandemic regrettably providing Coyne — well-regarded for his time at GES and ASP… more
JUNO Continues Expansion as New Era of Events Emerge
May 14, 2021
JUNO, a leading software company distinguishing itself in the virtual/hybrid era, has brought LaDonna Whitaker on board as vice president of sales. The hire is the latest in a series of moves Juno is making to bolster its leadership as the events industry moves past the COVID-19 lockdown and into a new frontier of engagement. Whitaker arrives at JUNO from Virgin America, a company that rose in prominence under the guidance of her team. Among Whitmaker’s many impressive firsts in a career leading travel’s intersection with technology, Whitaker was the first sales associate hired for Experdia’… more
May 10, 2021
Pandemic be damned! These three associations found rich and meaningful ways to connect with their members through digital events. The numbers were record-breaking for all involved, but how they got there were different paths. Explore the many routes of success when doing virtual. Global Pet Expo Digital Thousands of pet industry professionals converged online March 24-26 to participate in the first-ever Global Pet Expo Digital Access, the virtual version of the annual trade show and conference for independent pet retailers, distributors, mass-market buyers and other qualified professionals… more
Partner Voices
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