How technology is impacting the events industry

Space travel and virtual reality sounds more like the opening to a sci-fi movie, when in actual fact it opens a discussion on how technology is impacting the events industry. Like so many industries, technology has a huge part to play in connecting people in the events space, both now and well into the future.

Technology is making our professional and personal lives faster and more engaged than ever before, and this filters through to our client enquiries where we discuss ways to deliver a technological edge to their next event.

Common practises Elevate has adopted and integrated for the past few years include attendee event apps, dedicated conference activity feeds, live onsite polling, real-time cloud based data reports and immediate survey results direct to screen.

Other changes we have seen include the demise of paper tickets and plastic lanyards as attendees can now just tap their phone to register and receive the latest event information. Armed with a smart phone and in some cases, wearable tech like the Apple Watch, there is no need to provide a floor plan to delegates, as their GPS will guide them to their next room. Technology is also reflecting changes to facilities provided at events, which now include technology hubs for delegates to complete specific activities as well as acting as a recharge station.

But how long is this “piece of string”? These types of applications and software are only a small snippet of the technology revolution of the events industry with many unique technological advances about to transform the way we manage events. For example, Waverly Labs recently launched Pilot, a wearable smart earpiece that translates languages in real-time with assistance from an app, doing away with the costly need for individual language translators.

Or rather than having someone run around the room, attempting to squeeze past chairs with a handheld microphone during your next event Q&A session, you could have some fun and use a Catch Box to capture delegate interest by throwing this colourful, soft microphone around the room.

With Google and Samsung both launching consumer-ready Virtual Reality headsets, this technology will start to be adopted into more events over the coming years to allow delegates to attend from anywhere in the world. VR could also be integrated into your next event to show your delegates offsite locations such as new site developments, and chances are your exhibitors will be playing around with it too!

And although a little further away than the technology mentioned above, Richard Branson predicts when commercial space flights become mainstream and anyone can do it, you will be able to fly anywhere in the world in 90 minutes, meaning the costs and logistics associated with flying a keynote speaker to Australia from the UK or the US, will be substantially different to what we currently see.

To find out how you can engage your attendees at your next event through advances in technology, speak with the Elevate events team today on 07 3180 3666 or email events@elevatecom.com.au.