Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Rise of the virtual conference

[bbc] Virtual conferences are set to explode and steal a slice of the action away from real-life trade shows.

A report last month by Market Research Media said the marketplace will grow to $18.6bn over the next five years.

One of the big players in the field, ON24 said their survey showed 87% of 10,000 executives ready to go virtual.

"It is still an evangelical market, but the recession has helped businesses see the value of virtual environments," said ON24 founder Sharat Sharan.

"Think about all those savings from hotel rooms to airfares for attendees to meals and conference space. One of our biggest technology clients had a sales meeting earlier this year where they generally spend $5m (£3.2m). They spent a tenth of that by holding a virtual conference," Mr Sharat told BBC News.

Rise of the virtual conference

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