The 32nd Asia-Pacific Venue Industry Congress, is currently underway at ICC Sydney. While technology is considered to be a key driver in improving venue performance, it’s also something many in the industry are a little afraid of.
Speakers - Andrew Preston, Product Owner - Event and Payment Apps Auckland Unlimited; Hannah Davy, Manager - Technical Services Legends ASM - Kai Tak Sports Park; Christopher Butler, Vice President - Product Management, 24/7 Software along with Melanie Ivory, APAC Director of Sales, Swoogo covered various topics related to technology adoption and innovation in venue operations.
The speakers discussed their experiences with implementing new technologies, overcoming barriers to adoption, managing the implementation process, and leveraging data and analytics to drive continuous improvement. Key themes included the importance of communication, change management, vendor partnerships, and balancing innovation with practical considerations.
Ivory initiated the conversation with “tech can make many managers feel like they have a level of control taken away from them. Why do you think Tech adoption in venues feels intimidating when trying to implement a new solution even when the benefits are clear
Some of the panellist contributions included:
Butler shared “If dealing with a venue manager that has decades of experience, when bringing in new technology they are often worried that the new tech will take away their knowledge and start making decisions for them. However, Tech is really just another toolkit in your arsenal - it’s a tool to complement the decision making processes.”
Preston added “Introducing new Tech can often result in a disconnect between managers and the frontline team – especially if the frontline team don’t understand the bigger picture or higher purpose of why the new tech is being introduced.”
Davy added “we’re a brand new venue. It's not necessarily always the actual technology that's the answer to a problem. It's more about the people and processes that wrap around the tech that make it really successful."
Bring your team along for the ride
Ivory asked the panel when introducing new tech, how do you reframe and bring people along for the ride?
Preston noted that it is useful to have numerous channels open for discussion on new software allowing everyone to contribute.
Butler shared that rather than adopting a top-down approach in which managers say “this is the technology that you have to implement” instead take a more consultative approach from frontline workers all the way up. As part of their process, 24/7 Software ask organisations/venue teams “what are the challenges in your day-to-day operations? What’s stopping you from becoming more effective” and then turn that into a conversation that’s a consultation rather than just “shoving technology in their face.” You have to consult with every stakeholder from the bottom all the way up to be successful.
Davy added that it is imperative to have people with many experiences really listen to each other and advised that a soft barrier to tech adoption is “not being able to carve out time to have space to adopt new tech to move forward.”
Minimising disruption
The speakers highlighted the most critical consideration in bringing on new tech is that it mustn’t disrupt work flow when going through the vendor selection process.
"When you're going through the vendor selection process trying to bring in a new technology, you want to find a technology that works with your existing workflow. So it's not disruptive" added Butler.
A suggestion was for segmentation of the implementation - having smaller stakeholders get a little bit of the technology first.
Butler advised that as organisations need to get the ‘buy-in’ from those that are going to be using the software, they need to feel part of the decision-making process. Try to understand their needs. Test the new tech with a more enthusiastic team subset that are excited for change and if you can prove that it works for them they will help spread the benefits to the other groups within the organisation.
Preston highlighted the benefits of comparing internal operations to other venues; exploring what they are doing in their technology space; bringing that back to the venue; and showcasing the tech to the team.
What would you do if you could wave a magic wand?
Preston shared “If you could just instantly make all your data quality perfect, then it would just free up a lot of that stuff. Particularly for AI, having your information architecture sorted is very important."
Preston noted that having Information Architecture (IA) sorted is very important before moving into AI space – ‘IA before AI’.
Butler shared that if he had a magic wand he would turn resistance from change into more of a curiosity approach “so people will be curious about new technology and be more open to adopting it or even just looking at it."
What happens after a venue brings on a tech project?
Butler advised that 24/7 Software, as a vendor, want to understand how venues operate when they are bringing in new technology. They need to know how it best fits with work flows. They take a consultative approach but advise that’s only the beginning of the implementation. There will also be reimplementation.
Butler shared “We’ll have some quick wins, we’ll have ongoing processes. it never stops. And then we have retrospectives - looking at how things went, what went wrong, where improvements can be made. The cycle never ends.
Davy highlighted that after new tech is installed it’s extremely beneficial to have the vendor on site during event days o need to build a relationship with the vendor.
Butler emphasised that it is the vendor’s responsibility to make sure the venue is driving forward.
The conversation finished up with a brief discussion on facial recognition and AI.
AI was further explored in a later presentation by Adam Driussi, Chief Executive of Quantium, in which he shared ways to ‘take advantage of the AI revolution’
Click here for more information on 24/7Software in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.
25th March 2025 - 24/7 Software launches GlobalCommand to enhance operations for multi-venue organisations
7th March 2025 - 24/7 Software enhances event operations for Sidney Myer Music Bowl
7th May 2024 - 24/7 Software set to stage APAC webinar on data-driven technology in venues
26th February 2024 - MCG links with 24/7 Software to improve venue security
1st September 2022 - 24/7 Software continues international expansion with Australasian launch
