The digital Faktor Zehn User Group 2021

Due to the still ongoing effects of the Corona pandemic on the event industry, the Factor Ten User Group digital took place again this year. In total, more than 120 people participated in the digital User Group this year - a new record. Our experience from 2020 has already enabled us to avoid a few stumbling blocks this year and further professionalize our digital presence. You can get a deeper insight into the Factor Ten User Group 2021 in the following blog article.

Renaming of von Faktor-IPS User Group to Faktor Zehn User Group

Right at the beginning of the event, it was officially announced that the Faktor-IPS User Group is now called Faktor Zehn User Group. Since we have continuously expanded our product portfolio as well as the scope of the User Group over the last few years, we also want to do justice to the company's development with this name change.

What was the process like for the digital Faktor Zehn User Group 2021?

As in 2020, the Faktor Zehn User Group was planned and implemented in 2021 with the help of an online event app. Since we had already worked with the platform, we were able to use much of the existing knowledge from the previous year and focus on additional ideas from last year. Above all, our aim was to make the User Group as lively and interesting as possible, despite the digital implementation, and thus to offer an exciting event for all participants.

Cologne or Munich?

As every year, the focus of the User Group was on live presentations, project updates and presentations from customers. In contrast to last year, two virtual meeting rooms were provided in 2021, based on two of Faktor Zehn's locations - Cologne for the Cologne location and Munich for the Munich location. Due to the variety of presentations and workshops offered, some of the events took place in parallel. The digital implementation allowed participants to flexibly decide which lecture they wanted to listen to or which workshop they wanted to participate in and quickly switch to the corresponding digital space. Each participant was able to create their own individual agenda in the event app. Shortly before each presentation, the next agenda item was announced via announcements in the form of a pop-up, so that everyone could be in the right meeting room on time.

Over the course of the two days, the Cologne meeting room served as the starting and ending point of the event. Both the welcome in the morning and the wrap-up in the evening by our managing directors Jörg Renger and Florian Schwandt took place in this room. Throughout the day, presentations were given here by our internal employees as well as by external customers who reported on their cooperation with Faktor Zehn and the successes of the same. We were also able to welcome an international customer to this circle.

And the networking?

One of the most important parts of the Faktor Zehn User Group this year was, of course, the exchange among the participants. Whether during short coffee breaks or over lunch together, personal exchange is of great importance for events, whether digital or face-to-face. By holding the event digitally, we were again faced with the challenge of how this could best work to enable personal communication despite the physical distance.

Using another online app, participants were able to navigate directly to a networking area. In this, people could move freely in a virtual room that was divided into different areas. Virtual tables were available there, on which our project and product information was laid out. In addition, various free tables were available where participants could meet and thus speak directly with each other via video chat. It was also possible to communicate with other people in the free space. As soon as one approached another participant or group, a video chat room opened up.

Where do we go from here?

Even though we have completed the digital version of our User Group very successfully, we very much hope to be able to hold a face-to-face event again in 2022. Despite the many digital options now available, holding such an event digitally has one major weakness: digital networking cannot replace face-to-face contact at an in-person event. Therefore, we have already started planning the face-to-face event in 2022.

However, if circumstances do not allow this again next year, we will also react flexibly once again and fall back on the digital concept. Experience from the last two years shows that we can also offer a productive and successful event digitally.

Conclusion of the second digital User Group

Planning and executing the Faktor Zehn User Group completely digitally for the second time was once again associated with a number of challenges, despite previous experience. Despite this, we can proudly say that we have completed another successful, purely digital event. At this point, we would like to thank all participants and contributors for the successful event. We are therefore looking forward to the coming year and hope that the Faktor Zehn User Group 2022 will again take place in our presence and that we will again be able to facilitate the personal exchange between our employees and customers.

If we have aroused your interest in the Faktor Zehn User Group or in the digital realization of our event and you would like to receive further information, please feel free to contact us at BusinessDevelopmentGB3@faktorzehn.de.

Your Faktor Zehn Team