Companies that host extravagant events—where hundreds or thousands of staffers travel to a single location, sometimes for several days—are cutting back. And virtual reality platforms that mimic the success of social network Second Life are filling the void online.
In Conshohocken, virtual event software solution VCopious hit the ground running in May, led by local seasoned tech entrepreneur Kenyon Hayward.
“The reality is that the virtual environment marketplace is on a very strong upswing,” Hayward, the company’s CEO, says.
In addition to saving costs on those lavish conferences, using virtual reality hosting software, companies can use the virtual space 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can have customers or employees interacting with content.
A bank can setup a sticky environment where customers can check on their mortage application, Hayward says. “Or a company can setup an event where clients can go online and have a fun experience, instead of just browsing a list.”
Fun is a big part of the business model—but it’s more than that, Hayward says. “Corporations are really looking for someone to come to them with an idea on how to differentiate their products. The low price—it’s the market we live in today,” he says. “But you have to differentiate your service.”
Hayward came onboard as CEO in May, joining co-Founders Harpret Chatha and Ron Gianonne. Previously, Hayward was CEO of RedLasso, after he founded video conferencing V-SPAN Inc., which later became British Telecom Conferencing. He also co-founded Advanced Voice Systems—which was acquired by MCI—among other notable business enterprises in the region. He’s certainly got business savvy—in a city he says has no reason not to be confident when compared with other cities like Boston and Chicago.
Early this month, the company announced that SAP Global Marketing had licensed the software to host its virtual events. Prior to the announcement, the 45-employee company had been in stealth mode.
In May, SAP hosts its Sapphire Now global event online, hosting 15,000 visitors from Frankfort, Germany, Orlando and Florida. By connecting to the VCopious virtual meeting place, those folks were able to attend more than 400 live and pre-recorded broadcasts. SAP will use the software for other events it has in the pipeline, Hayward says.
There’s a lot of competition in the virtual reality event marketplace. Philadelphia’s ProtonMedia has had some big announcements recently about its life sciences-focused virtual event hosting. In February, Proton published a case study that it had saved partner BP $3.7 million during a virtual reality conference, which could help down the Gulf these days (we couldn’t not make the requisite oil spill reference).
So what sets VCopious’s software apart? Hayward says its the company’s seamless integration with existing IT infrastructure and the fact that it is the first virtual event software solution that can be installed behind a company’s firewall. Before the backend solution provided by VCopious, SAP turned to Software As A Service solutions hosted off the company’s servers.
Companies can integrate with their e-commerce platform, CRM, telesales, CMSs with VCopious’s built in API. And with VCopious, social networks, like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, are accessible directly from the software, so customers or clients can interact using platforms they’re famaliar with.
“Others were assembling different types of systems to create virtual events, but not creating actual software to reside behind the firewall of a company,” Hayward says. “Corporations have unique needs.”
VCopious is focused on large corporate contracts, like the SAP deal. For around $1.5 million, a licensee gets the company’s software offering, including a multi-year package with upgrades included. Companies that want ala carte can rent the software on a day-by-day basis.
And though the VCopious is in talks with additional clients, they’re not yet ready to announce any.
“Many times in my career, I’ve gotten involved in companies that really captured my imigination. I was captured by the possibilities of what can be done here,” he says. “At this stage, I’m not going to be doing things that I don’t believe are going to be very, very big.”
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