Event Success

CHAPTER 19The Changing Event Technology Landscape

The pandemic was a transformational period not only for those in the trenches adopting new skills to orchestrate unique virtual experiences. During that time, those of us who work on the technology side of things were also going through a transformative period of our own.

In only a matter of months, we watched as a once small group of event technology vendors ballooned to encompass a range of new players, including some that probably didn't consider themselves in the event technology space previously. Just as the pandemic opened the door to new opportunities for event teams that were able to adapt quickly, it similarly required technology providers like Bizzabo to evolve at breakneck speed to meet the needs of the industry. It wasn't just the underlying technology that had to change, but the way we see ourselves as a company and an industry.

Whether virtual or hybrid, the event platform is really the central infrastructure where everything happens. It is not just where the data flows or the content is housed; it is now the headquarters of the actual experience itself.

During 2020 and 2021, we found ourselves among many companies—some familiar to this space, others not—racing to develop new capabilities that would meet the needs of event teams in the virtual and hybrid era. Now that technology has become so intertwined with event success, it is incumbent on event experience managers to understand how event technology has evolved ...