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Should virtual event teams reside on the IT or Business side?
Should a virtual events team contain members from both IT and the business? Or should it reside on one side only?
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4 Answers
Phil - I'd say it's based on the types of virtual events. Ultimately, the team should reside within the group (or groups) that is driving the business benefit of using virtual events.
For instance, for virtual events around lead generation, the team may best belong in Marketing. For virtual events around internal corporate training or learning, then the team may best belong in IT, since they probably manage similar types of infrastructure.
The answer also depends on the company's organization - the team structure in a small business may not be valid within a Fortune 500 corporation.
I agree with Dennis. Most platforms are easy and flexible enough to not need IT's involvement, so it really boils down to each organization's specifics. For example, if IT typically gets involved with your attendee registration programs, the chances are they'll be involved with your virtual event, too.
As Phil's question implies, often IT is represented along with the other business group. They'll serve a consultative role to ensure that the technology meets security requirements or operates properly within the customer's network.
For us, virtual events serve business purposes and therefore reside in our business operations. IT does play an increasingly important role and their weigh-in, buy-in, and support is critical for a successful event.
Having moderated and spoken at a fair number of virtual events with Focus.com and its clients, I agree with the tone and tenor of the comments from previous respondents. I would hasten to add, however, that IT's need to be involved can vary considerably depending in part on the hosting platform chosen. Solutions such as those from Focus.com client Citrix Online, for example (GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, GoToTraining, GoToAssist) are designed to support events that can be delivered with little to no IT involvement at all. With others, such as ON24 and Inxpo, the service providers also provide technical support before and during each event. So by matching the host platform to the business requirements of each event, business decision maker can minimize or even eliminate the need for IT's direct participation, freeing up scarce and expensive IT resources for other tasks. Thanks for the great question!
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