Verizon Refocuses Its Virtual Meetings Platform on In-Person Events

25.08.2023 - 14:11 / skift.com / Matthew Parsons

U.S. telecoms conglomerate Verizon is ramping up efforts to gain a foothold in the meetings and events sector.

The company is better known for its mobile network, but it also operates a video-conferencing and virtual meetings platform called BlueJeans. That division is now delving deeper into the meetings and events sector as corporate travel recovers.

The unit’s boss thinks meetings platforms have become “commoditized,” so he’s now developing a range of features designed to better blend the worlds of virtual and real-life.

“Meetings is meetings,” said Chris Lewter, general manager of BlueJeans by Verizon. “It’s a bit of commoditization right now. Everyone kind of does meetings, it just depends who you prefer, or who your company is using.”

His comments follow a recent Deloitte report that found “inadequate conferencing software” was boosting the recovery of corporate travel, with conferences now one of the top purposes for a business trip.

The meetings sector is realigning itself after the pandemic. First came the layoffs, now come the mergers and acquisitions. Cvent is reportedly for sale, while Convene has just bought conference provider etc.venues to cater to the growing trend of hybrid work.

It’s this area that BlueJeans is keen to explore, following a launch of products over recent months.

“What we’re wrestling with is you’ve got on a Wednesday or Tuesday, or whenever people are coming together, they’re in a conference room, but then you’ve got four other people who never made it to the conference room,” said Lewter. “They’re on the team, they need to be engaged, be part of the conversation and feel that inclusion. That’s where we’re thinking of different versions of the platform.”

To address this BlueJeans partnered with Owl to build a 360-degree camera. When placed in the middle of a table it automatically follows the speakers. It also offers “rooms-as-a-service” to help companies upgrade conference rooms, and a “Gateway” device lets companies plug in different video conferencing software, including Microsoft Teams and Zoom, to create a single meeting.

It’s also targeting the exhibition sector with a product called Expo, offering booths with a virtual presence so delegates can still attend. On a bigger scale it’s recently developed a Studio product, offering TV production quality.

“The idea behind physical conferences, we’re going to see a tonne of it in 2023,” said Lewter.

In the face of diminished corporate travel sales, one agency has come up with an innovative way to encourage more bookings: a grant.

Australia’s Flight Centre Travel Group was severely impacted by the pandemic and is now reviving its “Corporate Travel Grant” program.

It is targeting small and medium-sized businesses, and