Pivoting from physical to all-virtual events has certainly posed new challenges, but the goal remains the same: to provide insights to anyone giving up their valuable time to attend. For Pure//Accelerate™ Digital 2021, that’s meant determining what value really looks like in virtual settings and tapping into that to create an event you’ll love.
First, we weeded out what doesn’t translate well virtually. This includes full-day venues jam-packed with sessions and sponsored coffee booths that trade caffeine for conversation.
We took steps to mitigate challenges unique to virtual events. The biggest one: engagement. For attendees, in-person events remove distractions. They’re immersive. A conference gives you a reason to shut your laptop, mute your phone, and really digest what speakers are sharing. But, at home, distractions abound. Slack messages, emails, and more compete for your attention, and odds are you’ll only be able to pay attention to half of a traditional, 45 minute session before being pulled away¹.
This led us to make a wholesale shift in both format and content. We had to reimagine things to sustain engagement and deliver the value that makes attendees leave happy. It’s more than slide decks and virtual meetings—we learned an effective virtual event has to undergo its own top-to-bottom digital transformation.
3 Keys to Engaging Virtual Events
How have we shifted our virtual event strategy with you in mind? Our strategy is to:
- Deliver options across more days. We know you’re busy and can’t commit to a full two to three days. Rather than asking you to spend one to two full days engaged, we’re spreading the event out over five themed weeks (about five hours per week). This lets you pick and choose content that’s most valuable so you can prioritize their time.
- Opt for short sessions to serve up the information and inspiration you need and want. We’ve asked presenters to cut out the fluff and focus on key points so we keep the bulk of sessions under 25 minutes.
- Keep it simple. We got choosy about the content. With fewer core sessions and more focus on high-demand sessions, it’s easier to find what’s right for you (and won’t result in lots of shelfware with low interest).
What are we keeping in our virtual line-ups?
Guest industry speakers and special guests (stay tuned for the big reveal!), longer sessions, and opportunities for engagement. “Food 4 Thought” sessions will resemble technical webinars (i.e., 45 minutes with Q&A. And, panel discussions will be 45 minutes. Executives and IT experts will cover innovative new ways to use data and discuss how IT roles are evolving, among other topics.
The Secret to Real Virtual Engagement: Agility
Above all else, we want to be able to bring you what you want—even if that means making adjustments on the fly. This approach lets us do just that by providing us with something hard-core, 2-day events cannot: Agility. Event calendars can and should be flexible.
Presenters aren’t totally burned out, and new content can be added as we go. That said, keep an eye on event schedules each week, and be sure to give feedback along the way.
- Pure Basecamp: At Basecamp, experts will share our newest offerings and latest upgrades to Pure’s portfolio: Pure as-a-Service™, Evergreen™ program, FlashArray™, FlashBlade®, Pure1®, and new services like Portworx® that can extend your ability to serve cloud-native initiatives.
- Data Analytics: This track will enhance your ability to improve IT efficiency and provide real-time business insights. It’s for security, IT, sales, and marketing operations teams who are looking to deliver solutions that empower breakthroughs and eliminate risks.
- Business Applications: In this track, accelerate how you access the data that powers your company and improves operational efficiency. Get updates on our support for leading database vendors and how we’re improving open-source database apps.
- Cloud & Kubernetes Solutions: In this track, learn to design and implement your approach to cloud and Kubernetes-based applications while minimizing complexity. See how Pure simplifies private, hybrid, managed, and cloud-native approaches to IT while reducing financial and operational risks.
- Data Protection: This track will help you meet the broadest range of RTO and RPO goals while minimizing the risk of data held ransom. Learn about enhancements to Pure’s ability to serve business continuity, disaster recovery, and rapid-restore SLAs. We’ll also cover how we secure and safeguard data from cyberthreats.
Pure Accelerate 2021 aims to connect attendees with thought leaders to help unlock the power of data and accelerate breakthroughs. Join us for inspiration, information, and a little bit of entertainment along the way.
- https://eventleadershipinstitute.com/virtual-event-planning-a-round-up-of-25-need-to-know-stats/
