Amongst all the exciting day-to-day things happening at Arkessa, this month we are particularly looking forward to two big events in our calendar:
Hannover Messe – 25-29 April, Hannover (Germany) in partnership with Huawei.
Intel Solution Summit – 26-28 April, The Hague (the Netherlands) with Arkessa partners, Intel.
These two fantastic events give us the opportunity to demonstrate the latest in IoT connectivity management services and how best-of-breed MVNO technology enables our Enterprise, Industrial, Automotive IoT customers and eco-system partners to develop new business strategies, deploy new products into global markets and to develop new service based business models.
There is always a great deal of logistical organisation involved in the run-up to events, as well as networking and marketing preparation to be done, and we have been reflecting on the ways in which technology, and in particular, IoT, can make events and conferences easier for organisers, exhibitors and delegates alike.
Mobile
Mobile connectivity has certainly changed the face of events over the last few years. Way in advance of the event, delegates, exhibitors and speakers are able to begin networking on social media and planning their trip using event information at their fingertips. During the event, positive social updates can play the part of free advertising for organisers, as well as creating buzz around particular exhibitors or speakers. Of course, the flipside to this is that if something doesn’t go so smoothly, unsatisfied attendees can potentially damage reputations by voicing their opinions to the world at large!
Customised
Tailored apps have become an essential tool at most events and conferences, replacing paper brochures and allowing event organisers to update information and communicate with attendees in real time. This also extends to advertising – enabling messages to be targeted to attendees’ preferences, behaviour and even location. Attendees can customise their own schedules, optimise their limited time and get the most out of the event by making sure they get to see all the exhibits and speakers that interest them the most. Exhibitors and speakers can tailor their offerings to audiences, resulting in a more valuable and customised experience for all involved.
Wearable
Connected wristbands allow organisers to share live updates and information with attendees, monitor crowds at very large events and organise attendance at speaker sessions. They also enable exhibitors to reach out to their target audiences, sending special offers and incentives to the delegates using their location or even their patterns of behaviour.
Interactive
Encouraging audience participation at speaker events can often be a challenge, but tech can help speakers to get their crowds involved. Apps such as crowdmics, and interactive slides with real-time audience surveys conducted on mobile devices are amongst the tools speakers can use to encourage interaction.
Virtual
And finally, event organisers are embracing Virtual Reality as an alternative experience to attending the event in person. Increasingly, attendance at an event could mean anything from jumping on a plane to Las Vegas to logging on from the comfort of your office.
If you’re going to be at Hannover Messe or Intel Solution Summit, do come and say hello, tweet us, or let us know in the comments below. As usual, we’ll be updating and following all the action from both events. Follow us @arkessa or @HannoverMesse and #HM16 and @ITP_EMEA and #ISS2016 for all the updates on Twitter.