How the Corona virus Could Change the Conference Industry

Based on unprecedented circumstances brought on by the corona virus, many businesses around the world have decided to disband large-scale conferences and events, for fear of spreading the virus. Many businesses are affected by these cancellations and are trying to find online alternatives to hosting conferences. However, as it currently stands, the technology is limited when it comes to hosting large-scale events and conferences online.

Affected Industries

Conferences affect airline, hotel, restaurant, transportation, entertainment, and tourism industries. With the mass cancellations brought on by the corona virus, many of those who were planning to host or attend these conferences are looking for online alternatives. However, options available for large scale conferences are currently limited on the market, leaving a huge opportunity for potential startups and other telecommunication companies to create new virtual meeting software.

How Businesses Are Changing

Products such as Skype, Zoom, and Google Hangouts, are popular tools among businesses. However, these tools are generally limited to less than 500 people, making it difficult to host large-scale conferences over multiple days. There is currently a big push to make large online meeting platforms more available. Likewise, current platforms need to be more interactive and engaging to individuals to keep them on-task throughout a multi-day conference.

What the Future Might Hold

Even when the coronavirus is contained, it is expected that the virus will have a long-term effect on the conference industry, and many other industries around the world. In the wake of the virus, we can expect more people to use online platforms to attend conferences in the future. Ultimately, being able to attend a conference online will be much more convenient for the attendant.