WORLD - Continuing its series of research on the ‘Future of Meetings’ theme, international industry association Meetings Professionals International (MPI) has released a new White Paper on meetings technology, offering research findings and a guide to future action.
The latest piece of Future of Meetings research claims to have uncovered the technologies that researchers at Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK identified as key shapers of the meetings industry, ranging from the obvious: Internet, mobile apps and social media, to fields such as the world of targeted audio, augmented reality and robotics.
MPI reports the following headline findings and advice from the Leeds Metropolitan University team that carried out the research:
- Mobile devices in conjunction with social networks will empower delegates and communities. Channel this energy for the benefit of your events.
- Virtual meetings will slowly become more widespread. Think about innovations in handling meeting information and delegate participation.
- Invest in staff to keep ahead of technology advances. Determine who will own social media channels and stay in contact with experts. Increase awareness of any technology that may become disruptive.
- Realise the worth of good, motivated technical staff. Any lessons learned from past technology investments, successes or failures, will make them better equipped for the next challenge.
- Don’t bind yourself to vendor-specific technologies, because they may soon becomeobsolete. Instead, rely on open standards, which are more future-proof than proprietary concepts.
- Be prepared to take risks and equip yourself to make fast decisions. Sometimes these won’t work out; allow for mistakes and learn from them.
- Don’t forget about the Cloud; it gives you flexibility and reduces risk.
There is a chance for European professionals to join face-to-face discussions on the future of meetings during the MPI European Meetings and Events Conference, 27-30 January, in Montreux.
A series of live sessions will be presented, including: Co-creating the Future of Meetings & Events; Imagineering Tour: Imagining Meetings & Events in 2030; Campfire session: Twitter Twaddle; Flash Forward 2030: Future Trends That Will Drive Change in Your Meetings Session
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