Like everything in life it is impossible to be all things to all people. Any product that aims to please everyone will likely end up pleasing no one. And in the world of events trying to please just one demanding event organiser can be hard enough!

So how do event technology companies work out what organisers want? 

How do tech providers hone their carefully crafted masterpieces to ensure what they have created will be used by organisers? This was one of the key questions asked of the event organiser attendees at Event Tech Circus in Amsterdam in May and it will be a core discussion at Europe’s signifiant other event technology get together “Tech Fest” held in London on the 18th and 19th of July.

What organisers consider when choosing event technology

When deciding on the winning startup at Event Tech Circus – which would in the end go to the wonderful Conferize – the 30 tech savvy organisers from across Europe were asked to list the areas they considered important when weighing up event technology. The attendees felt confident that their list would help other organisers make the tough decision: in which event technology to place their money and their faith.

Peer-to peer generated content

One of the objectives of Event Tech Circus Amsterdam was to try to bring the sometimes distant event communities of organisers and tech companies closer together. Who knows where the list will end up after that! The list is “open source” and is designed to be a starting point for other organisers to build on. In that spirit the organisers attending Tech Fest will take this participant generated list one step further with the aim to prioritise the points in order of importance.

So, in no particular order, a list from organisers about event technology

1. Value to the organiser AND value to the attendee.

Technology should be able to demonstrate its value to the organiser, the attendee or both very clearly. Technology that struggles to define and demonstrate its value will struggle to pick up sales.

2. Fit for purpose.

The technology has to simply do what it says it will. Even in the alpha or beta stages organisers expect to be able to have a functional project. 

3. Efficiency.

Technology has to save organisers time. If it doesn’t do this it will unlikely get out of the starting block.

4. Ease of use.

Eventprofs expect to be up and running with technology in a short period of time. Even technology that can demonstrate value has to be easy to use. 

5. Return on investment.

It was interesting that “cost” wasn’t on the list; evidence that event organisers are willing to pay for technology that demonstrates ROI.

6. Service and support.

Event technology has to be backed up by great service and great support. Even if the end user of the technology is the attendee and not the organiser, demanding planners expect that level of service and support to extend to their end users. 

7. Online and offline.

Event organisers demanded technology that was able to be native AND on the cloud. This is no doubt down to the issues around WiFi at events as well as the fact that organisers are often away from their desks. They need 24/7 access to up to date event technology no matter the environment. 

8. Fun and engaging.

If organisers are going to spend a lot of time with a particular bit of event technology then it better be engaging. The same goes for that technology if they are going to ask their attendees to use it: it has to look good and be well designed. 

9. Localisation.

With events being increasingly global organisers are demanding geographically tailored event technology products.  

10. Integration / API.

Being able to integrate new pieces of event technology with your favourite existing ones was a big bonus for planners. 

11. Sign in via other channels.

For technologies used by both the organiser and their attendees being about to socially sign easily made the list.

12. Scalability.

If your event technology worked for one event, suppliers better be able to quickly demonstrate that they can upscale that technology to cope with more attendees and more events.

13. Innovation and disruptive.

Planners are not just looking for the disruptive start-up but they are keen to engage with established technology that does things differently. 

14. Multi-functional platform.

Organisers were keen to see a lot of tech services on one platform.  

We can’t wait to see what our attendees will do with the list at Tech Fest!

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