Though there are many things we miss about live events (and there are many things), embracing digital events as part of our event management offering has brought some fantastic benefits.
Last week, for example, we were managing Seismic 2020, a conference we run on behalf of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen Section. In the past, this has been held (as normal) at a venue in Aberdeen, welcoming around 200 delegates.
The event has always been an exciting one to be a part of, with enthusiastic and passionate delegates registering in droves to attend one of the most popular training sessions on SPE's calendar.
With the move to digital, the networking and face-to-face interaction inevitably disappeared which is always sad to see. However, it has opened up the conference to a global audience with delegates "attending" who would not previously have been able to.
We were delighted to see 430 industry professionals logging in from all over the globe during one of the Seismic sessions. With attendees from Japan, Australia, UAE, US and Europe, we were excited to be sharing the event with more people than we ever have before.
The same goes for DEVEX 2020. When we first started working with the DEVEX Committee four years ago, they had a groundbreaking model - provide two completely free days of training for the industry. Taking place during the recent downturn, this was a welcome message for professionals working in the sector and around 300 delegates would attend each day.
The DEVEX 2020 Committee was fully on board with making the event digital this year, determined to continue with their mission to bring training opportunities to as many people as possible.
This resulted in the development of several free sessions where attendees could pick and choose which days they'd like to attend over one whole week.
With this enhanced flexibility, we saw over 440 delegates registering on one of the days - again with a much more widespread audience than just Aberdeen.
We've been learning a lot as we continue to offer digital event options for our clients. And for every challenge that comes our way, there is not only a way to overcome it but a way to make that challenge into an opportunity.
We can't wait to see what's to come...