2016 has been an excellent year for Technology Live! – our series of interactive storage technology demo days.
A3 Communications’ Technology Live! is a one-day event where four storage vendors set themselves apart from their competitors by showcasing their technologies and product innovations to some of the most influential journalists, analysts and bloggers in the EMEA region. Technology Live! is not a briefing. It is not a quick demo at a show. It’s a new format, a unique opportunity for suppliers to really dive into what makes their solutions stand out in the market. For the attending ‘audience,’ Technology Live! is an interactive platform to see the technologies they have heard about, in action. To understand what makes a vendor an innovator, what makes its products different.
The journalists, analysts and bloggers who attend Technology Live! are among the most respected in the industry, with vast technical knowledge and understanding of the storage space. To date, companies including DDN, HPE, Micron, Scality, Tegile, Virtual Instruments and others, have used Technology Live! to strengthen their PR strategies and their feedback has been unequivocally positive:
‘Technology Live! is more focused than other events, with a few presenters who can make a difference and introduce their technology, their goals and their differentiations. Other events don’t have such good quality targets and aren’t as well-organised.’ Jérôme Lecat, CEO at Scality.
‘Technology Live! is a fantastic addition to our communications strategy because it allows us access to a lot of the influencers in Europe; it’s a great addition.’ Rob Commins, Vice President of Marketing at Tegile.
‘Technology Live! is a new concept that’s focused on storage, so we knew that the press and analysts involved would be exactly the people we want to target.’ Chris James, Marketing Director, EMEA at Virtual Instruments.
During a 90-minute slot, each participating vendor not only demonstrates its technology with a highly technical deep-dive, but it becomes the focus of a fast-paced, honest and highly valuable discussion, almost roundtable style. In fact, post-event surveys have shown that the interactive nature of Technology Live! was the aspect most highly valued by the audience, which found the event a great use of their time:
‘Why is it such a good event? Good mix of companies; right number for length of day, mix of tech and sales / marketing, willing to answer toughest questions in a straightforward way – much appreciated. A good mix of targets facilitated a good range of questions and attendee-presenter conversations made for meaningful dialogue.’ Chris Mellor, The Register.
‘It’s a great chance to interact with the participants. A very well organised and run event.’ Tony Lock, Freeform Dynamics.
‘What you get from Technology Live! is the chance to get updates on new trends, and the presence of other analysts stimulates good debate.’ Andrew Buss, IDC.
‘We get longer to speak with each vendor and get some really technical presentations. It’s a good chance to bounce ideas off like-minded bloggers and analysts.’ Martin Glassborow, Storagebod.
‘I like the face to face interaction with vendors, and I enjoy spending a day with a selected number of vendors and other bloggers and journalists to talk about technology and different points of view.’ Enrico Signoretti, Juku.it.
Over breakfast, lunch or end-of-day drinks, the presenters can further share thoughts with the audience in a more informal way, offering insights and building relationships. Both sides get to learn more about each other, gaining knowledge they would not get with traditional PR tactics.
Since Technology Live!’s first edition in November 2015 in London, the event has gone from strength to strength, and has expanded across borders from the UK into France and Germany, where the discussions tend to be in the local language, helping vendors to showcase their regional presence.
The upcoming Munich and London editions of Technology Live! are now sold out but to find out more about how to participate please contact the event team here.
