IDC

I.D.C. - The first-ever system that gives small companies the ability to organise meetings online, slashing costs, time and errors, - has been launched.

I.D.C. is the brainchild of ADA Event Management, one of Dubai's leading conference management companies, and Catch Interactive (formerly 121 (‘one to one’) Agencies) Dubai's fastest growing e-marketing agency.

Together, ADA Event Management and Catch Interactive have set up a new company – Interactive Delegate Communications – to market I.D.C.

A combination of ADA Event Management's ten years of experience in handling and managing large conferences, and the experience 121agencies has in handling large amounts of valuable data means that the interface and the workings of the system are easy to use, work efficiently and logically.

Until now there simply were no tools available to the smaller company that they could use to automate a delegate registration process or indeed any invitation process. Instead companies were forced to use an archaic systems; involving either straight out invitation by email, or the use of P.D.F’s to collect data from delegates.

Both systems have huge flaws basically because neither were designed for delegate registration, both generate massive amounts of mail from delegates, both require huge amounts of time in data collation and both leave the organiser concentrating on correspondence rather than the event at hand. In addition to this delegates are expecting more, more service, more attention and higher standards.

In today’s work place PA’s and event organisers simply don’t need this type of distraction. Exhibitions are getting bigger and more hectic, the media is larger more complex machine than it was years ago, hotels are becoming harder to book.

So why are we still inviting our delegates to conferences with a system that hasn’t really changed since the Internet first started?

With an Automated Delegate Registration Tool. All of the above problems can be removed. In our studies carried out last year we found that for a 50 person three day meeting involving delegates from around the GCC:-

Time spent communicating one-to-one with delegates was slashed by up to 80%.
Presentation of media such as invitations and forms was dramatically improved.
Available time spent planning the actual event increased by up to 50%.
Error reporting due to mishandling of delegate data was reduced to zero.
Time spent by the delegate communicating their requirements to the organiser was reduced by over 50%.

The I.D.C. system has been designed with all of the above in mind, but it’s most important design aspect is that it’s been built by people that run events. ADA will be handling over 1500 people over the course of next year, from oil companies to accountancy firms. They know what the system needs to tell you, when and how.

I.D.C. has also been designed with a versatility that allows the seasoned web designed to go in and do what he or she wants, but at the same time allow for a complete novice to be able to design and deploy a fully featured registration with in a matter of hours.

Even if it’s too much for the technophobe IDC has designers waiting to produce customised invitations and graphics at no extra cost to the user.

Dan Whelan of I.D.C. explains: “The I.D.C. system was designed to put the power of online delegate registration into the hands of those who would normally not be able to afford it, but we can’t simply stop there. The biggest misconception about the Internet today is that it’s hands off, you just put a site up and step back and watch; that’s how companies fail. We have to remember that there’s still a customer on the other side of the counter, just in this case the counter is an electronic interface.”

The launch of I.D.C. fills a huge void in the delegate registration market, finally giving smaller companies the ability to automate their meeting planning. Nicola Chater, UK Chapter Chairperson of S.I.T.E (The Society of Incentive and Travel Executives) said: "I.D.C. will revolutionise the way people organise their events. Online registration is now no longer a big company tool; the system is perfectly balanced for the small to medium sized meeting planner"

The I.D.C. system has been under development for two years, development however is far from finished, although this is the initial launch, there’s a lot more to come, from SMS and MMS integration into the invitation processes, PDA and smart phone integration through to almost daily improvements on the system itself.

For further information:
Dan Whelan
Tel: +971 6 7475884,
Email: press@interactive-delegate.com

About ADA Event Management: (link)
ADA Event Management: Founded in 1998 by their British owners, ADA's goal was to provide unique upmarket meeting and incentive services to a market dominated by tourist based operators.

About Catch Interactive: (link)
Founded in 2001, Catch Interactive (formerly 121 agencies) is the region's fastest growing agency for e-marketing strategy and online media campaign planning, design, metrics and reporting.