Virtual Event Company

Platform, agency or hybrid arrangement

Search results for virtual event companies mix software vendors, production agencies and consultancies. They solve different problems, so sort them before you compare them.

A platform is software. You or your team build the event in it, invite speakers, manage registration and run the sessions. An agency is people: strategists, producers and technicians who plan the program, run the show and often bring or choose the software. A hybrid arrangement uses a platform for the technology and an agency or freelancers for the parts your team cannot cover.

The services you can ask a virtual event company for

Write the list of services before you speak to anyone. Vendors will otherwise define the scope for you, and quotes will not line up. These are the services buyers most often need:

• Strategy and program design

  Goals, audience, format and a session plan that suits a screen, with sessions shorter and more interactive than in a room.

• Platform and technology

  Registration, ticketing, the virtual venue, session streaming, chat, polls, booths and networking tools, plus integrations with your CRM and email.

  Virtual meeting app

• Production and live hosting

  A producer, a technical director, a host or moderator and a rehearsal plan, so speakers join cleanly and nothing runs over.

• Speaker and content support

  Speaker briefs, tech checks, slide collection, recording and editing of sessions for on-demand viewing.

  Speaker management

• Sponsor and exhibitor management

  Booth setup, sponsor deliverables and lead reporting, which are usually platform features plus some account management.

• Attendee support and reporting

  A help channel on the day, attendance and engagement reports, and a post-event survey.

  Post-event survey guide

Questions to ask any virtual event vendor

Use the same questions with every vendor, and write the answers down. Ask for answers in the proposal, not only on a call. Vague answers are information too.

• What exactly is included in the price?

  Ask for a line-by-line scope: software, support, rehearsals, hosting, recording, reports. Ask what costs extra and what triggers it.

• Who does the work on the day?

  Ask who will be in the control room, whether they are employees or contractors, and who you call when a speaker cannot connect.

• What happens to our data?

  Ask who owns the registration data and recordings, how you export them and what is deleted after the event.

• What if the internet or a speaker fails?

  Ask for the back-up plan: pre-recorded fallbacks, a second presenter link, a way to reach attendees mid-session.

• How do attendees get help?

  Ask what attendees see if they cannot log in and who answers them.

• Can we speak to a similar organization?

  Ask for a reference with a similar event type and size, and call them.

• Which of our systems does it connect to?

  Ask about the CRM, payment gateway, email tool and video tools you already use.

  Eventdex integrations

• Can we try it before we commit?

  Ask for a demo built around your own agenda, and sit in on a test session as a speaker and as an attendee.

How to run the selection process

A fair process can take a few weeks, and it is shorter if you decide the arrangement first. The steps below keep the comparison honest and give each vendor the same chance.

1. 1

   Decide the arrangement

   Choose platform only, agency only, or a mix, using the table above. Do not invite agencies and software vendors to the same comparison.

2. 2

   Write the brief

   Use the requirements template below, and agree internally who has a say and who decides.

3. 3

   Shortlist three vendors

   Use referrals, your own research and past events you have attended. More than three makes comparison slow.

4. 4

   Ask for a demo or a pitch on your agenda

   Give each vendor the same scenario, such as one keynote, two breakouts and a sponsor booth, and watch how they handle it.

5. 5

   Check references

   Speak to one organization with a similar event, and ask what went wrong and how the vendor handled it.

6. 6

   Score and decide

   Use the scorecard, discuss the gaps between scorers and ask each finalist for written answers to any open points.

7. 7

   Review the contract before the date is public

   Have a lawyer or procurement review the terms, and agree the dates for rehearsal and sign-off in writing.

A requirements template you can send to vendors

Sending every vendor the same brief is the quickest way to get quotes you can compare. Fill in what you know and mark the rest as open questions.

VIRTUAL EVENT REQUIREMENTS
Organization: [Name]   Contact: [Name, email]
Event: [Name]   Dates: [Date(s)]   Time zones served: [List]
Goal: [What success looks like, in one sentence]
Audience: [Who attends]   Expected attendees: [Number or range]
Format: [Virtual only / hybrid]   Sessions: [Number, length, live or recorded]

WHAT WE NEED
Registration and ticketing: [Free / paid, ticket types]
Sessions: [Keynotes, breakouts, workshops]   Q&A and polls: [Yes / No]
Networking: [Matched meetings, roundtables, chat]
Sponsors and exhibitors: [Number, booth needs]
Recordings: [Live only / on demand for X days]
Languages: [List]   Accessibility: [Captions, other needs]

SERVICES
Platform only / platform plus setup and training / full production and hosting: [Choose]
Producer and host needed: [Yes / No]
Speaker tech checks and rehearsals: [Yes / No]
On-the-day attendee support: [Yes / No]

INTEGRATIONS AND DATA
CRM: [Name]   Payment gateway: [Name]   Email tool: [Name]
Data export needed: [Fields, format]

TIMELINE AND BUDGET
Decision date: [Date]   Event date: [Date]   Budget range: [Amount or to be discussed]

PLEASE ANSWER IN YOUR PROPOSAL
1. What is included and what costs extra?
2. Who runs the event on the day?
3. Who owns the data and recordings?
4. What is your back-up plan if a speaker or the connection fails?
5. Two references with similar events.

A vendor scorecard

Score each vendor from 1 to 5 on the same criteria, then weight the criteria that matter most to your event. Leave the scores blank until you have seen a demo and read the proposal. Two people scoring separately and comparing is better than one.

Red flags and contract points

Watch for these in the sales process. None proves a vendor is wrong for you, but each deserves a direct question.

• Scope that is never written down

  If hosting, support or recording is promised on a call but missing from the proposal, it is not in the deal.

• No demo built on your agenda

  A generic demo hides how the tool handles your real sessions, ticket types and sponsors.

• Pressure to sign this week

  A good vendor will accept a decision timeline that includes a test session and a reference call.

• Reluctance to share references or data terms

  You should be able to see who owns data and how to export it before signing.

• Contract points to check

  In general terms, read the scope and deliverables, the payment schedule, what happens if the date moves or the event is cancelled, data ownership and deletion, confidentiality, liability and who the named support contacts are. Terms vary, so have a lawyer or your procurement team review the contract.

  Event contract template

Where Eventdex fits, and where it does not

Eventdex is a software platform, with the Eventdex team setting up your event and training your staff, so it sits in the platform-with-setup-support row of the table above. On the virtual conference page, Eventdex describes registration and ticketing, sessions, workshops and panels, virtual booths, roundtables, AI-matched video meetings, speed networking, live Q&A and polls, and gamification, with reporting afterward. The same platform runs hybrid conferences. The pricing page lists full setup and on-demand training in its promise to event planners.

Eventdex is software, not a production company. If you need a camera crew, a studio, a host or program design, ask in a demo what Eventdex can and cannot supply, and plan for an agency or freelancers alongside the platform if it cannot. If you want to run the event with your own team and have help getting set up, the platform-with-setup-support row is the one that applies.

• Virtual conferences

  The product page for running a conference end to end on one platform.

  Virtual conference platform

• Virtual event management services

  Eventdex's page on services for virtual events.

  Virtual event management services

• Pricing and contract options

  How modules are quoted and the promise to event planners.

  Eventdex pricing