The digital User Group 2020 – Change of perspective at events

In addition to the entire social and professional life, the Corona pandemic has also turned the topic of events upside down. While most events were inevitably cancelled in spring, the second half of the year is increasingly dominated by digital events. In the course of this, this year's Faktor-IPS User Group also took place as a purely online event for the first time - a challenge from the organization to the actual implementation. This blog article will show you how this worked.

In addition to the entire social and professional life, the Corona pandemic has also turned the topic of events upside down. While most events were inevitably cancelled in spring, the second half of the year is increasingly dominated by digital events. In the course of this, this year's Faktor-IPS User Group also took place as a purely online event for the first time - a challenge from the organization to the actual implementation. This blog article will show you how this worked.

How did the digital realization of the event work out?

From a technical and organizational perspective, the first digital user group worked well for the factor ten. The event was planned and implemented using an online event app. The goal was to enable a remote event that was as lively as possible through the digital organization.

Cologne, Munich or Vienna?

Three virtual meeting rooms were created for speeches, project updates and presentations by customers, which are specifically oriented towards the locations of Faktor Zehn - Cologne, Munich and Vienna. This made it possible for lectures to be held in parallel. Due to the digital implementation, the participants could also quickly change the "room" and attend another presentation. With the help of an individual agenda, the participants had the opportunity to choose the presentations that matched their interests and schedule. Appropriate pop-ups also ensured that everyone was in the right meeting room on time.
Live stream in Cologne, exciting presentations in Munich and Vienna

During the event, the meeting room Cologne had a special function as a live stream. Here the approximately 80 internal and external participants were welcomed and bid farewell by our Managing Director Jörg Renger. External presentations by customers who reported on their cooperation with Faktor Zehn were also held here. Customers from abroad such as the Netherlands were also able to join in and give their presentations. Even from far-away Singapore, there was a presentation by a colleague - something that would not have been possible during a conventional presence event, for example.

The networking thing

As with most events, the Faktor-IPS User Group also thrives on the exchange of ideas among the participants. Be it in short coffee breaks or over lunch - personal exchange is of great importance for events. But how do you network people in a time when the top priority is to keep their distance from each other?

A digital solution has also been found to enable people to meet face-to-face, not in person, but digitally. Using the online app, participants were able to navigate to the networking area, which was displayed virtually via a video chat tool. After a brief registration with name and photo, (video) conversations were possible in twos, threes or even in twos. Of course, this cannot completely replace the real exchange - but the feedback showed that the participants enjoyed digital networking.
What will the future look like?

At the moment, of course, no one can say how future events will be implemented. While other major events in 2020 will largely be implemented digitally, there is hope in many places that attendance at face-to-face events will be possible again next year. However, the digital implementation of the Faktor-IPS User Group has shown that it is also possible to create an appealing event remotely. Thanks to the technical possibilities available to us, we, as Faktor Zehn, will be able to react flexibly to the circumstances of the pandemic next year and make another digital User Group event possible.

Conclusion on the first digital User Group

Planning and implementing the User Group as a digital event for the first time was definitely a big challenge. Nevertheless, we can proudly say that we successfully mastered it. We are therefore looking forward with great anticipation to the coming year, in which the User Group can hopefully take place again as a face-to-face event. And if not, Faktor Zehn is well prepared thanks to the experience gained this year.

If we have aroused your interest in the digital realization of our event and you would like to receive further information, please feel free to contact BusinessDevelopmentGB3(at)faktorzehn.de.

Your Faktor Zehn Team