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Meetings planners should decide to introduce event network integrity best practice when planning their next event and ensure the provision of the 3 S’s – Security, Stability and Speed.

Event network integrity will deliver maximum Return on Investment by focusing on the connectivity needs of attendees before selecting the venue and knowing exactly why this service element is so important.

How do event and meetings planners assess network connectivity for an event, understand how to assess the infrastructure constraints and the options for high connectivity events?

Event planners need to embrace the fact that attendees use connectivity for different purposes. Each attendee connects to the Internet in their own way, and with a range of devices (laptop/notebook, smartphone, iPad and other tablets) to suit their own agenda.

Availability, price and space are no longer the only components needed during the venue and network selection process.  New selection processes include availability, price, space and network integrity. Remember, too, that all cloud-based event services (mobile apps, virtual attendee ‘Pods’, video etc.) rest and rely on a robust and reliable network.

Meetings professionals should know the requirements of: Session presenters, general attendees, conference staff team, exhibitors/sponsors, news media, C- level and high-touch attendees and remote attendees.

Armed with this knowledge, event professionals can then deploy cost-effective network segmentation design, which is the key to bandwidth management. Network segmentation involves the grouping of attendees into tiered bandwidth categories to monitor and manage bandwidth usage as well as network expectation.

Here’s the topline network segmentation list:

Tier 1: Speakers, news media, exhibitors/sponsors and C-Level Individuals

Tier 2: Conference staff team, remote attendees

Tier 3: General physical Attendees (on-site)

Protection of Intellectual Property

Creation of virtual local area network (VLAN)

Usage of a virtual private network (VPN)

On-site Printing

Real-time Network Monitoring

This approach should ensure that event and meeting planners ensure they deliver the 3 S’s – Security, Stability and Speed through the effective planning and management of network integrity. The knowledge of venues and their network offering is pretty essential now – and event professionals should either have or build this knowledge, or cut to the chase and partner with an IT professional who has this knowledge and experience.

Here’s a brief animation that provides a walkthrough roadmap on the environment of network connectivity, what to do, what to be aware of and what to avoid: Event Network Connectivity Roadmap