The event tech integration issue: how to overcome the industry’s biggest challenge

Out of the many challenges facing the industry in recent years – event tech integration remains the most persistent.

Although the issue itself has layers, business leaders believe that the solutions are simple in theory but require universal commitment in practice.

Why is event tech integration such a challenge?

We will cover the following points in this article:

• Event tech integration and the other challenges facing the industry
• Is integration the real issue?
• Is collaboration in events key to overcoming the challenge?

The prospect of finally overcoming the industry’s number one issue is within reach.

Event tech integration and the other challenges facing the industry

Integration has remained one of the main challenges facing event professionals for several years.

Organizers have been more concerned with overcoming issues such as ensuring exhibitors achieve ROI and providing a seamless experience for all parties.

Event tech integration has now moved to the forefront of challenges, with 74% of the industry citing it as their number one obstacle in the recent Event Tech Forecast by ExpoPlatform.

This is hardly surprising – technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace and there is a strong desire for companies to be seen as ahead of the curve.

It has been cited above other issues such as high costs and budget limitations (47%) and lack of staff training/skills (42%).

Yet integration of event tech remains the primary concern.

Fortunately, industry leaders believe this can be overcome – but it is important to look at the root cause.

Is integration the real issue or is there a deeper obstacle beneath the surface?

Although event tech integration appears to be the most challenging obstacle facing the industry – the real question is why?

Understanding the answer to this question could be the key to solving the problem.

Event leaders believe this is merely the tip of the iceberg – what lies beneath is the larger issue.

Stephan Forseilles, CDO of Easyfairs, has weighed in on the obstacle and believes integration itself is not as hard as it seems.

He said: “Integration is easy. What’s difficult is the underlying data models – there’s no overarching data model of our industry. Everybody does things differently.”

So the problem is not event tech integration as such, but the siloed approach to it among organizers.

Having a common data model appears to be the solution.

Other leaders have also expressed this belief – citing poor data housekeeping as a key barrier to achieving this.

Simplifying data warehouses is not the easiest task and while accomplishing it is an important first step, it is not the only one that must be taken.

Is collaboration in events key to overcoming the challenge?

To have an overarching data model that makes integrating event tech easy, organizers must first cast off competitive mindsets.

This is not to discourage competition within niche target audiences, but as is evident – the siloed approach to tech adoption is hindering the industry as a whole.

Instead, all event organizations should embrace the era of collaboration we are entering.

Sharing lessons, scaling knowledge and developing a shared vision are key to enabling the industry to grow as a whole and overcome its main obstacles.

This joint problem-solving includes working toward universal tech adoption and an overarching data model that will simplify integration.

Organizers need to start flexing their collaboration muscle to finally push past the toughest challenge they’re currently facing.

This will also have a domino effect on removing other obstacles – 37% of event professionals say complex or unreliable tech is another challenge.

Competitors can work together to weed out inconsistent tools and adopt simpler solutions.

All while continuing to push each other within their respective areas.

This results in a state of co-opetition – retaining the rewards of healthy competition while ensuring all ships rise with the tide.

Discover more about how collaboration in events is the key to success here.