Virtual Conferences' Home Advantage
Companies like Cisco Systems are hosting virtual events to attract participants who wouldn't otherwise be able to attend
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Last month, during a conference in Honolulu that was sponsored by Cisco Systems (CSCO), as many as one-third of the 3,000 attendees didn't set foot on the Polynesian island. Instead, they took part online, in a virtual conference created by Cisco along with Unisfair, a specialist in virtual events.
Cisco had high hopes for the summit, convened on behalf of the thousands of partners responsible for more than 80% of its sales. Cisco wants these so-called channel partners to help it meet a target of boosting revenue by 12% to 17% in coming years, and its research suggests more collaboration means more sales. A big way to get people to work together is luring them to conferences like this—even if they can only participate virtually.