Here we are well into 2023, and the most welcoming change we notice this year is the recovery of the world from the lethal pandemic of 2020. With that, we also see physical gatherings back in picture. But wait, is it bad news for the Virtual Event Industry? The world got so accustomed to working remotely, interacting with peers, clients and customers through virtual meetings & conferences. With no restrictions on crowd or travelling, will the industries still prefer to engage virtually or things will go back to square one? These are a few questions which the majority of event planners are pondering over, presently.
Through this article, we at ibentos, aim to address such questions and also throw some light on the predicted industrial work culture & expected contribution of virtual conferences to that!
Sustenance of Virtual Conferences in post Covid Era
The common belief could be that in the absence of compulsion, the scintillating physical gatherings and more engaging face-to-face meetings will replace the virtual interaction completely. But why do companies still promote ‘Remote Work Culture’? Why do Vendors & Buyers still prefer the ‘Virtual B2B Trade Platform’ for bulk sales? Or why is it that universities all over the world are offering virtual/hybrid education programs and students are most willing to join?
Because amongst the adversities of the pandemic, the world has realised that ‘Physical Meetings’ are not always mandatory to meet our needs. On the contrary, ‘Virtual Conferencing Platforms’ are capable enough to provide seamless connection with added advantages like:
- Inclusivity of Global Participants
- Flexibility of Attendance for Participants
- Savings in Time, Money & Effort for the Hosts & Participants
- Access to the Global Market
- Speed, Accuracy & Efficiency
- Variety of Interaction Tools
- Excellent Networking
- Limitless Data Share
- Improved Digital Marketing
- Flexibility to use AI-Enabled Tools
- Performance Measurement & Analysis.
- Zero Carbon Emission
- Zero Waste Generation
‘Virtual conferences’ connect companies with their local & remote employees, clients & sponsors on a common virtual platform and let them host Employee Gatherings, General Body Meetings, B2B Meetings or Client Demos without any physical assembly. They also pitch an otherwise ‘Physical Event’ like Product Launches, Trade Fairs & Product Exhibitions at a ‘Global level’.
The audiences now desire to choose from Virtual/Physical/Hybrid conferencing platforms sensibly, depending on their necessities & resources. The companies can comfortably arrange this by hiring a capable technology provider such as ibentos. Virtual/Hybrid Conferences have a bright scope in 2023 & beyond and let's explore in what ways!
Expected Trends in Virtual Conferencing
1. The size of the remote workforce will increase.
Companies have already remodelled their talent acquisition strategies and started enriching their workforce by hiring international staff. ‘Virtual Hiring Platforms’ enable companies to float job requirements on international forums and execute global recruitment drives flawlessly. With tools like Resume Filtration, Resume Sorting, Candidate Tracking & faster Screening Methods have made hiring a comparatively quicker, cheaper & more efficient process. Thanks to virtual technology the size of the remote workforce will increase considerably. Owing to this there will be a rise in the demand of ‘Virtual Conferencing Platforms’ as well.
2. Intermingling of Suppliers & Consumers across boundaries
The individual subsets of ‘Buyers’ & ‘Sellers’, which were earlier demarcated geographically, have been united collectively by virtual technology & Internet, into a large ‘Universal Set’. Each counterpart has an open access to their respective demands & supplying capacities. In simple language, markets have been unified and they need virtual tools to interact & trade. This indicates a huge demand for Virtual Conferencing, Virtual B2B Meet, Virtual Trade Show & Virtual Trade Exhibitions Platforms.
3. The overall frequency of Virtual Conferences will increase.
With technological tools at hands & cost, time and travelling no more a boundation, the organisations will have a flexibility to increase the number of events per quarter. We’ll get to see more of Virtual/ Hybrids Commercial Engagement Events per year on an average. This is again good news for organisers.
4. ‘Targeted Virtual Conferences’ will be on the rise.
With the aid of virtual /hybrid tools and leverage of increased frequency the organisations can adopt more specific business approaches and host ‘Targeted Virtual Conferencing Events’. These events would be addressing specific agendas or inviting specific audiences groups. Example: A Macro Conference on ‘Advancements of Medical Science’ can be subdivided into micro conferences like a) New Drug Inventions, b) Advancements in Medical Equipments, c) Latest Research findings in treatment of fatal diseases, c)Drug Manufacturing Capacity of Indian Pharmaceutical Sector, d)Identification of disease inducing factors & their prevention etc.
5. ‘Physical Events’ will transform into Hybrid.
Pure Physics Events will soon be a thing of the past. This is not at all disheartening for the physical event industry as they will just have to switch to hybrid format. Virtual presence will soon be a mandatory requirement for securing long term business sustenance. With increasing numbers of capable technology vendors in the market, the transition would not be difficult. We will soon see a mass migration of the event industry from Physical to Hybrid.
6. ‘Metaverse Technology’ will be adopted in ‘Virtual Conferencing’ as well.
As the use of virtual conferencing has increased greatly, the issues of screen fatigue & monotony have become very common. To combat that, industries will soon switch to Metaverse Platforms for virtual conferences too.
Foreseen Use-Cases of ‘Virtual Conferences’
1. Day-today Interaction of Remote Employees
Apart from establishing connections between remote employees for daily work needs like discussions, presentation, document sharing etc, the ‘ Virtual Conferencing Platforms’ can be designed innovatively to provide them an inhouse feeling. Through Metaverse, they can be simulated to resemble the office buildings of the organisation with amazing extrinsic & intrinsic details. Example: Lobbies, Auditoriums, Conference Halls or Discussion Rooms, Cafeteria and even employee cubicles!
2. Virtual Meetings/Conferences with Clients & Sponsors
Virtual Conference Platforms are already being used extensively for connecting with remotely located Clients & Sponsors for things like: exchanging information, sharing contacts, discussions, marketing presentations, product demos and more. With better 3D features and more realistic metaverse office designs, organisations will not just keep their clients engaged but create an awe inspiring experience for them.
3. General Body Meetings
Having a global workforce means operating from different international locations headed by respective Managerial Teams. Virtual conferencing Platforms can be used for bringing different Leadership Panels together on “General Body Meetings’ for policy discussions, sharing future visions, and increasing business prospects etc.
4. Employee Appraisals
Virtual Conferencing platforms can be used efficiently by the organisation for conducting ‘Annual employees Appraisals’. The managerial staff pertaining to different employee groups can get together, discuss the evaluation parameters like performance, projects handled, code of conduct, client feedback for the employees.
5. Annual Corporate Gatherings
Having physical gatherings for remote staff is a difficult process. Getting everyone together at the same time and place would mean a big financial burden on the organisation, in terms of venue cost, travel allowance, lodging, food & beverages cost. ‘Virtual Conference Platforms’ can prove to be extravagant venues to host these ‘Annual Employees Gatherings’ providing quality online entertainment.
6. Combined Virtual Tours
Have you heard about Metaverse Tourism? Through this users can experience the joy of visiting famous & unaffordable tourist spots (like Monuments, Museums, Beaches, Art Galleries etc) by virtually logging into their Metaverse Replicas. Companies can organise such ‘Combined Virtual Tours’ for their employees on ‘Virtual Conference Platforms’.
Takeaways
We discussed how the ‘Virtual Conferencing Platforms’ became the lifeline for the industries amidst the uncertainties & chaos of the pandemic. We also inferred that ‘Virtual Conferencing’ will remain a mainstream corporate activity now and in future too. With successive technological updations and customisations, this tool has endless applications.
How to use them is totally up to the organisations and the future envisions they have for themselves. So, if you think it's time for you to have a full fledged ‘Virtual Conferencing’ support, ibentos could deliver you the best. Give us an opportunity to create entertaining, yet highly professional experiences for your clients, sponsors & employees!
To know more about our comprehensive Virtual/Hybrid Conferencing Platforms, please visit us at: https://ibentos.com/virtual-conference-platform.
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