Are virtual events in danger?
The market is changing.
Why You Should Care
Many are returning to the office and attending events in person.
Uncover what this is doing to virtual and remote-focused vendors.
The pandemic saw radical shifts in the way we meet, discuss, and communicate. Real-life discussions were replaced with online calls, and events were digitized and attenable from anywhere.
UK virtual events start-up Hopin bravely stepped into this world and in November 2020 said there were more than 15,000 monthly events available on its “Explore” platform. This optimism, and the technology behind the company, led to a staggering valuation of $7.8 billion in August 2021. Safe to say, the virtual events world had real value.
Last year, Hopin claimed that it was “exceeding its goals” and the company had attracted custom from Amazon and Microsoft.
The company stated: “Our investors believe in our vision to bring the world closer together, and we are in a strong financial position.” It added: “We will continue to invest in our growth and building an impactful company.”
This investor and customer enthusiasm has also been seen by the many discussions of the metaverse, which suggests there is a digital world that we can inhabit, in varying degrees, as we remotely engage in interests and business remotely.
However, as a return to offices become more feasible and there is a sense of eagerness to be at in-person events, Hopin and its fellow virtual events vendors have hit bumps in the road.
The challenging situation poses questions about the future of virtual events that in the chaos of the pandemic seemed an inevitability.
Challenges for virtual meetings
Hopin experienced first-hand the damage that the return to office did to virtual-focused businesses. According to third-party data, the company saw the market price for secondary shares slide, and had to let go of 12% of its staff (approximately 138 people).
Discussing the economy, an events industry executive told the Financial Times: “The landscape will look very different going forward. People can now meet.”
The executive went on to say that virtual meetings and events were “a bit of an artificial bubble.”
Despite the disparaging words, virtual companies are not facing a threat to their mission. Instead, they are re-evaluating.
Many commentators have discussed the likelihood of the full-time return to the office, but one thing has become clear: in-person and digital meetings are not binary, they intersect with priorities and personal logistics.
For example, virtual meetings can help companies with their environmental goals, productivity, and time management.
Speaking about the positives of virtual meetings, Kevin Smith, former Head of KPMG Private Enterprise – EMEA, told UNLEASH: “The thing that’s going to start to dominate everybody’s thought process is mobility and traveling that plays into the ESG agenda, which is loud and getting loud when rightly so.
In terms of time management, Smith added: “I think about my own history, I probably got on planes I didn’t need to get on. I will not miss taking three days out of my week to attend a three-hour meeting.”
With this in mind, virtual platforms may need to readdress their approach. We are not going to leave the physical world behind, but that doesn’t mean the world of hybrid work and geographically dispersed teams won’t need virtual platforms.
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Senior Journalist
Dan combines his first-hand experience alongside the latest news and opinions in the HR Technology space.
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