Demand for Virtual Environments Spreads Beyond Events & Meetings

Virtual Edge Summit 2011 Features Expanded Program to Look at Use of Virtual Environments for Events, Learning, 365 Communities, Training and Marketing

Las Vegas, NV. October 29, 2010, --- Virtual Edge Summit 2011, the Summit on Digital Solutions for Events, Meetings, Learning and Community and Virtual Marketing, announced it has made final speaker and program selections. Virtual Edge Summit 2011 will be held January 12-13, 2011, in Las Vegas, Nevada and online.

“Corporations, associations, trade show producers and media companies are scrambling to figure out how they can best deploy virtual solutions to grow their business and engage customers, partners and even employees,” said Michael Doyle, executive director of Virtual Edge Institute, producers of the Summit. “Though still affected by the economy and budgets that haven’t been, and may not be restored to pre-2008 levels, people are starting to really understand how virtual environments can drive meaningful business results beyond extending physical event attendance.”

The Virtual Edge Summit 2011 will have expanded coverage with sessions looking specifically at training and learning applications of virtual technology featuring some of the top practitioners in corporate and association learning. Speakers include: Karl Kapp, Professor at Bloomsburg University; Anthony Allen, Director, Digital Media, American Society for Training and Development; Catherine Upton, Group Publisher of ELearning! Magazine; and Stephanie Morris, Online Training & Event Delivery Manager, Intuit.

IBM will share its program for deploying an enterprise-wide, 365 virtual environment that will house events, meetings and learning engagements. “Whether it’s for a single event or a whole portfolio of events like the case with IBM, the market is going to the perpetual environment versus running one-off events,” said Hoang Vuong, CEO of Unisfair. “This is exciting because we are seeing the market shift from a cost savings driver to looking at real business value from utilizing the full capabilities of the platforms across several functional areas.”

Associations see this as an opportunity to bring their members into an online environment where they can hold events throughout the year, deliver member services, allow chapters to conduct meetings and house their online learning and certification programs. “There is a tremendous interest in virtual solutions from our association members as they look to extend the reach of their events and engage their audiences pre- and post-event to help drive attendance and participation at their physical events,” said PCMA President and CEO, Deborah Sexton. “Frankly, that’s why we are co-locating the Virtual Edge Summit with PCMA’s Annual Meeting, Convening Leaders in January. The program is an excellent addition to our signature education.”

“Budget is one thing, but today, competition for people’s time and attention is just as fierce, so organizations are turning to online, virtual means of conducting business, delivering education and training and marketing,” noted Doyle. “We are seeing a tremendous demand for virtual and hybrid events of all types—conferences, trade shows, webcasts, job fairs as well as training and education as companies realize that the technology exists to effectively deliver solutions online with the added convenience of on-demand consumption.”


About Virtual Edge Summit 2011
The two-day summit includes 30-plus educational sessions and workshops on digital solutions for events, meetings, learning and community. The Summit is designed to help attendees rapidly evaluate, implement and maximize virtual programs within their organizations. To register and learn about advanced registration discounts, please visit: http://www.virtualedgesummit.com/registration.

The Virtual Edge Summit 2011 will be co-located with the Professional Convention Management Association’s (PCMA) 2011 Annual Meeting, Convening Leaders, which brings together more than 3,000 meetings professionals to discuss issues impacting the meetings, convention and exhibition industry.

Follow the conversations on Twitter: @virtualedge or #VES11

Contact:
For media inquiries or to request media credentials, contact Cece Salomon-lee at 415-608-0302 or clee@virtualedge.org.

VirtualEdge.org is an organization dedicated to advancing the development and adoption of virtual event and meeting technology and best practices for collaboration and marketing. It does this by supporting and contributing research, education, thought leadership, promotion, and professional networking. VEI members help set the direction for the virtual events and meeting industry and create significant business opportunities, solutions and advantages for all. Members have access to various services and deliverables based on their membership level. Learn more at http://www.virtualedge.org.

Virtual Edge Institute
340 Mullin St,
Pleasanton, CA 94566

This release was published on openPR.