The OpenWater Blog

How to Find the Best Virtual Conference Platforms for Large Groups

Attending a large in-person conference will not be an option in 2021. Therefore, organizations that host conferences for large groups of participants must turn to alternatives such as virtual conferencing. You might be asking yourself, how do I find suitable virtual conference platforms for large groups?

Finding suitable virtual conference platforms for large groups can be tricky. 

You may be asking yourself: Can virtual conference platforms for large groups satisfy my participants? What features should I be looking for? How do I know if the virtual conference software I’m looking at would work for my virtual event?

In this article, we will discuss three key signifiers you should consider when searching for a suitable virtual conference platform for a large group. Then, we’ll discuss why Zoom is the best A/V platform for large groups. Lastly, we’ll take a look at why OpenWater might be a great choice for you.

Since March, OpenWater has helped over 150 organizations go virtual for large events like conferences and annual meetings. If you’re interested in seeing a demo of our virtual conference platform, we will be happy to help schedule that!

Key Signifiers of Virtual Conference Platforms for Large Groups

Virtual conferences for large groups must be flexible, scalable, and reliable.

Virtual conference platforms for large groups should be flexible because when something inevitably goes wrong, conference planners need to pivot to avoid catastrophe. Work-arounds and quick fixes need to be baked into the conference software.

It’s also necessary for large virtual conference platforms to be scalable. Every aspect of your virtual conference platform needs to be able to handle the amount of participants. Attendance at virtual conferences tend to increase dramatically, so your platform must be able to handle more users than you might expect.

Large conferences are the be-all end-all for some organizations. Since failure is not an option for many organizations, it’s important to find a platform that is reliable. Look out for platform providers that have customer stories. 

Best Video Tool for a Large Virtual Conference Platform

The larger your conference is, the more important it is for the virtual conference platform to be reliable. That’s why OpenWater is partnered with Zoom, the most reliable A/V service provider out there. Zoom software can handle over 300 million users worldwide all at once.

Large organizations like the American Association of Geographers have hundreds of sessions. Many of those sessions run concurrent and contain thousands of attendees. OpenWater can handle this in the Zoom platform, no sweat.

 Zoom can integrate with your AMS/CRM to enable single sign-on for users. This is a game changer for many organizations. It relieves the headaches that undoubtedly arise when hosting a conference. At OpenWater, we try to make our virtual conference platform as easy to use as possible.

Whether you’ve been using Zoom for months or it’s your first time, it’s good to have a refresher every now and then. OpenWater provides free weekly office hour training sessions for Zoom virtual conference events.

The Extra Help You Might Need to Run a Large Conference

Another important thing to think about is how much support you might need to run such a large conference.

Do you have enough staffers to run a successful conference? If not, finding a platform provider that offers virtual conference support is vital. 

Not many providers provide the support you might need, though. It’s important to make sure your platform provider’s conference services cover all the bases. Below are just a few of the services OpenWater offers:

BALANCE TECH, SUPPORT & TRAINING

Our sales team will help you build a package that balances platform features with the amount of support your team will need for the conference.

CONFERENCE BUILD OUT

Utilize our training webinars, office hours, and white glove services to efficiently build out your conference programming.

DAY OF CONFERENCE SUPPORT

Our day of support is your technical back stop during the conference. Our conference moderators can support attendee questions through chat, and barge into presentations to solve last minute issues.

OpenWater’s level of support is unrivaled. Our team works hard to make sure the conference is successful. 

Don’t just take my word for it, see what Veronica Maldonado from the Texas Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus has to say:

“We credit the team work at OpenWater for ensuring our conference was a success. Our attendance was up ~77% from our normal in person event.” -Veronica Maldonado, TACVB

Final Thoughts

Even if OpenWater isn’t a great fit for your organization, I hope this guide at least leaves you with a solid place to start. 

If you’d like to learn more about how we work with Zoom, how we support your conference, or anything else, please feel free to check out our resource page.

If you’d like to schedule a time to meet with us, use the following link to schedule a time to meet with us. We’d love to hear from you.

Will Flaherty

Will is a Digital Marketing Specialist at OpenWater. He can be contacted at will@getopenwater.com.

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