London-based event lead capture startup Akkroo has been scooped up by Phoenix-based demand orchestration company Integrate for $34 million.

Washington, D.C.-based event management software company Streampoint Solutions will run the inaugural Event Technology Week, an online conference, from March 25-29. Designed to help event planners managing the critical, yet often overwhelming world of event technology, this five-day event will feature webinars led by industry experts.

If you could create the perfect event tech platform that would solve all of your event-related issues while helping you to achieve your ultimate trade show goals what would that technology look like? We posed this question to three seasoned professionals and here’s what they had to say. Their answers can be applied to any event that includes exhibitors. 

This month, we’re recapping the latest tech news you need to know in an easily digestible format. Have news to share with us for March? Drop me a line at kogletree@tsnn.com.

Who can say no to faster, more reliable Wi-Fi?

Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center Dallas got a wireless upgrade this year thanks to Smart City Networks, which installed a new distributed antenna system (DAS) to expand the cellular service coverage and capacity at the facility.

While innovations in exhibit design and technology continue to drive the trade show industry’s evolution, the development of lead capture and post-show strategy can be overlooked. To remedy that, Gateway, a St. Louis-based exhibitor services company, is now offering a next-generation digital lead capture system designed to help exhibiting companies improve their show metrics.

Planners using Streampoint Solutions can now easily extend the software’s functionality with Pathable’s mobile event apps and conference microsites. Conversely, Pathable users now have Streampoint as a stable, more affordable option for additional event management tools.

Event management solution provider Aventri and AI Chatbot company Sciensio have teamed up to offer an industry first: an end-to-end event management solution that leverages EventBots.

EventBots are now available as an add-on to the Aventri product suite, allowing planners to access the technology directly through the Aventri dashboard.

Meeting scheduling can be the bane of an event planner’s existence. Anyone who has ever tried to coordinate multiple schedules in order to book meetings or demos at tradeshows or conferences knows how difficult it can be — the phrase “herding cats” springs to mind.

It’s equally difficult to show the value of these meetings, and how they influence sales pipeline and revenue generation. Jifflenow aims to solve both of these problems with its meeting automation platform (MAP).

The winners of the IBTM World 2018 Tech Watch Awards were announced at the IBTM World event in Barcelona this week. Zenus and Fielddrive were the joint recipients of the Tech Watch Award, while Kubify took home the inaugural “People’s Choice” award for its Learning Toolbox.

There’s a new component in IMS Technology Services’ IMS Concierge suite, and it’s designed to encourage audience participation and increase engagement — in real time.

The newly launched IMS 2nd Screen, powered by Glisser, is an integrated platform that includes presentation software, an audience response system and event analytics. The audience participation app shares slides to personal devices and uses audience interaction to provide analytics that can help planners and presenters improve the attendee experience.