From the planning phase to operations, the exponential influx of people and information we need to keep track of at all times is sure to keep us on our toes.
But rather than struggle when things start going downhill, the continuous development of event technology is giving us the tools to line up our resources so we can avoid wasting precious time and energy fishing for that updated run sheet or evacuation plan when we need it most.
Here's how:
This is probably the simplest and most powerful way that new event technology can help in executing a successful event. Even when everyone involved is fully committed, the bigger the network gets, the greater the risk of communication gaps, confusion over unforeseen events, and last minute adjustments to resolve the lack of coordination.
Risk management plans, daily run sheets, integrated schedules, operating plans, scopes and policies are systems that are constantly being updated and it’s important that every manager stays up-to-date with them so they can provide the right training to their team.
Managing events will become more efficient over time, as there are several new software systems that help streamline your event communications. Keep your inbox from overflowing with emails, your phone from giving you a heart attack, and stay up to date with your message bubbles.
When everyone knows where to get the must-have information, who needs to update it and how they need to react when something happens, everyone saves precious energy and are far more efficient at getting things done.
Event tech is steadily improving to reduce the lapse between events happening and solutions being provided by allowing the necessary participants to access the data they need in time.
Let's say you're part of a marathon, and there's been a car accident at a road-crossing involving your track: now you can know precisely where it happened, the severity of the accident, and so can the emergency team. Event tech features like geo-location provide that bird's eye view, which prevents further triggers like logistics to change the track, delays at the event because the road has not been cleaned, and angry runners for not reacting on time to fix the issue.
While event technology that helps to create a single source of information is great, it gets even better when it allows you to integrate with other platforms that offer a different or more tailored solutions.
Imagine you have one for registration, inventory, risk management, transport operations, event scheduling, etc. You would need to visit one by one (and hope all connections work well) to get reports and then proceed with an action, but with event tech integrating this data, you can produce one or fewer updated reports that allow you to choose your next course of action confidently, because you have real information to back you up.
A lot of things can and will probably go wrong with your event operations, but when you have the right tools, you get the peace of mind you need for a decent night's sleep and certainty that if anything does go wrong and an emergency call wakes you up mid-dream, your next steps are just a click away.
