We've only dipped our toes into using data to create richer experiences and stronger connections at events, but that's all about to change.
Bluetooth Low Energy adoption will explode: The wireless technology allows planners to see where people are and thus deliver accurate recommendations, encourage interactions and make participants' time more efficient. BLE could suggest that a participant attend a nearby relevant session, rather than hike across the convention center for something else. At a conference with 20,000 or more people, determine who to network with and when is challenging, but BLE allows participants to connect with relevant individuals nearby at any moment. It also lets organizers see how much time participants spent in each conference area and suggests new exhibit areas that participants otherwise might miss. In 2019, BLE adoption will extend beyond high-tech events and become a mainstream event technology, increasing data intake and the data's potential for providing intelligence.
Customized tools will improve events: I often find the preparation for an event—determining what to see and who to meet—tedious and daunting. Thus, Microsoft Envision's scheduling platform impressed me. It allowed me to create a personal profile, and it used artificial intelligence to recommend sessions, exhibitors and people I might wish to see. It took the guesswork and legwork out of optimizing my time and money. This creates a fantastic experience for conference-goers and improves repeat event attendance.
Integration will increase across tech providers: Most companies' event data is scattered in different places. Some lives in the registration tool, some comes from onsite technologies like session scanning and some lives in survey apps and other tools. Organizers need this data in one place to realize its full power and value. This year, more event platforms and tech providers will pull this data together through deeper integrations and real-time event intelligence. Hubb's application programming interface, for example, allows clients to pull in data from different sources. We partner with companies like DoubleDutch and TripBuilder Media to create data flows between our content platform and their mobile apps to provide event managers with up-to-date information that powers seamless and efficient events, regardless of the tools or providers on the back end.
We're exploring a frontier with event technology in applying intelligent data to meetings and events.