There’s nothing worse than spending money on a new piece of technology that doesn’t work.Whether it’s because your attendees don’t know how to use it—or more likely there isn’t enough bandwidth available to support it—flashy tech is often set aside for the devices we are most familiar with, such as our own tablets and mobile phones. But even those devices can fail us when we need them most, such as navigating the show floor during a big event.
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“All of this great technology that people talk about is predicated on having a live Internet connection and the proper bandwidth, and in 95 percent of venues that doesn’t exist today,” says Chris Kelly, co-founder and principal of Convene, a New York City-based conference center group.
The time has come when planners need to discuss their group’s technological needs well in advance of their meetings, and also during contract negotiations right alongside food and beverage, or room rates and attrition.
Meetings Focus spoke with industry tech veterans and some up-and-coming innovators who are looking to change the way we think about meetings technology, highlighting the importance of bandwidth as well as some new tools and trends in the industry.
