We’ve packed this month’s release with quality-of-life upgrades that save clicks, tidy data, and give you more control over the attendee experience. Here’s the quick tour:
Category: General
Reimagining Research Events With Live Meetings and Webinars
In a world that's rapidly pivoting toward hybrid and virtual engagement, universities and nonprofits find themselves at a crossroads. Traditional in-person conferences are wonderful, but let's be honest; they aren't always practical. Travel costs, global crises, accessibility issues; the hurdles are real. And when it comes to research events, the need for dynamic interaction isn't just a preference, it's a necessity. Researchers need to discuss, not just present. They want to engage, not just observe.
Enter Dryfta's Virtual Meeting Platform: a breath of fresh air designed specifically to meet the complex needs of academia and mission-driven events.
Quick Insight: 71% of event organizers say audience engagement is the hardest thing to achieve online. Dryfta tackles this head-on.
How-To: Hosting Conferences on Tight Budgets and Tight Borders
In July 2024, dozens of African health experts with accepted talks to a major HIV/AIDS conference in Munich found themselves watching from home as their visas denied by the host country. Around the same time, U.S. government agencies facing new budget cuts outright banned their scientists from traveling to conferences (even on personal time) until an outcry forced a reversal (Source: US NIH reverses conference travel ban for scientists). These incidents underline a stark reality: academic and nonprofit public health conferences are being squeezed by a perfect storm of shrinking travel grants, slashed research funding, and record-high visa restrictions. The stakes are high. If we don’t adapt, we risk conference halls filled only with those privileged enough to afford airfare and visas, and an empty seat where a young scientist from the Global South should have been sitting, sharing insights that could save lives.
Fresh Features, Bigger Webinars & Our UPenn Spotlight
How’s planning going? We’ve been busy polishing Dryfta so the platform keeps doing more of the heavy lifting for you. Here’s what just landed in your account:
What’s New & Noteworthy
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Super‑Sized Webinars
• Host up to 500 speakers/moderators on camera
• Livestream to 8 000 viewers simultaneously
• Moderators can flip the switch from “watch‑only” to “join the stage” for live Q&A and allow participants to ask questions
The Definitive Guide to Shared (SaaS) vs On-Premise Event Management Software
Picture this: You are planning a major conference that gathers hundreds of influential stakeholders from around the globe. Your registration portal is ready to go live, and the marketing campaign has started. Suddenly, your IT department raises concerns about data privacy, regulatory compliance, and deeper integrations with internal systems. Traditional cloud-based software feels too restrictive, lacking the control and customization your organization demands. Tensions rise as deadlines loom and decisions must be made quickly. This scenario illustrates a challenge many senior event managers face: deciding which type of event management software is the right fit, a SaaS-based event platform that is shared in the public cloud, or an on-premise event management software solution that resides on dedicated infrastructure.
New Trends in On-Premise Event Solutions for Enterprise Events
Organizing large-scale conferences in a global context has increasingly become a complex undertaking. Senior event managers and corporate planners must now consider multiple aspects such as attendee data protection, compliance with international policies, and sophisticated technology integrations. While SaaS-based event management platforms, hosted on a shared cloud, have been a dominant force in recent years, a gradual movement toward on-premise event management software, installed and fully managed within private cloud, is reshaping the way enterprises approach event management. This adjustment is driven by a variety of factors, including the imperative of having total control, meeting advanced security requirements, and adhering to evolving data regulations in different geographies.
Big Updates for Your Events + This Month’s Customer Spotlight!
At Dryfta, we know that every detail counts when organizing a successful event. That’s why we’ve rolled out a fresh batch of updates to help make your workflow even more seamless. Here’s what’s new this month:
All you Need to Know About Event Data for Measuring ROI
Gone are the days when events were just about creating a buzz or ticking off PR checklists. In today’s dynamic business landscape, events are powerful investments designed to deliver tangible returns—not just in terms of revenue but also through invaluable metrics like digital footprint, lead generation, brand awareness, and engaged audiences. The most successful businesses now invest 1.7 times their marketing budgets into live events, viewing them as strategic assets rather than mere expenses.
New Dryfta Updates, Customer Spotlight, and Meet Us IBTM World!
As we head into the final stretch of the year, we’re excited to share some powerful new features that have just been added to Dryfta. These updates are designed to make your event planning more efficient and your events even more impactful.
New Waitlist Features for Better Ticket Management with Dryfta
We have been working on a series of exciting updates to Dryfta’s event ticketing software designed to improve maximize revenue for event organizers. Our latest features focus on streamlining the process of managing waitlists, ensuring that no opportunity is missed when tickets become available.
Introducing Ticket Swapping: Simplifying Order Management
We’re excited to announce a new feature in Dryfta that brings greater flexibility and convenience to event ticket management. Our latest update allows admins to swap tickets within a confirmed order, streamlining the process and enhancing the overall experience for both organizers and attendees.
Simplifying Submission and Review Processes with New Updates
In our ongoing commitment to enhancing the functionality and user experience of our platform, Dryfta is thrilled to introduce a set of impactful updates to our submission and review processes. These new features are designed to provide more control and flexibility for organizers, improve transparency for authors, and streamline the overall workflow.