Necessity has always been the mother of invention, and technology has always been at the helm of solving problems and improving our daily lives. Over the years, we've seen Netflix replace Blockbuster Video, Uber disrupt traditional taxi services, and Amazon online shopping has completed transformed the retail space. And yet, before the COVID-19 pandemic, certain industries remained stuck in the past, defined by technology which no longer served them. Specifically, the meetings and events industry that was in dire need of an update would help streamline and simplify planning corporate events and meetings.

Now, as the industry braces for recovery in the coming months, we realize that the path forward demands the long-awaited functionality of self-service meeting management technology.

The Old World of Meeting Management

Traditionally, larger corporations comprised entire teams dedicated to planning travel and venue accommodations for meetings and events. Without the corporate infrastructure to dedicate a whole team to such efforts, smaller companies often relied on a manager who helped oversee and manage upcoming events and travel while working closely with travel agencies specializing in business travel. With expensive and over-engineered technology systems designed for meeting management, the process of planning and facilitating events and meetings (regardless of scale) was often complicated and rife with delays and managerial headaches. Without the appropriate manpower of internal teams or external support from travel agencies, the administrative and logistical demand associated with event planning would make the process, simply put, extremely difficult.

Moreover, events and meetings can occur in any department. Those companies which have never allocated an internal role for event planning often found themselves in a predicament. If an HR manager had to plan a training event somewhere but didn't have the tools or training required to facilitate such a process seamlessly, what did that look like? Similarly, if a Sales Manager has to plan a sales meeting, how can they approach the planning process in an informed and efficient manner (especially in a post-pandemic world) without having any appropriate experience?

The New Era of Meeting Management

In a post-pandemic world, the internal infrastructure of corporations across industries has abruptly changed. Most companies are now relying on fewer resources and an increasingly limited budget. With fewer people in the office and a growing virtual workforce, most businesses simply don't have the means to support teams dedicated to corporate meetings and events. Those administrative efforts, most likely, have been transferred to someone else who, up until now, was entirely unfamiliar with the events and meetings landscape. As these individuals most likely lack dedicated planners' expertise, they don't require the complex tools or resources leveraged by professional planners. Instead, they need user-friendly, intuitive online tools that simplify the process of venue shopping, requesting proposals, booking venues, and booking travel.