The virtual trade show is catching on, according to one of the leading companies in the space.
San Francisco-based ON24 says that the company grew sales 40 percent in 2008 and saw its client base expand to 700 customers. (It didn’t disclose exact revenues).
Sharat Sharan, chief executive, said that companies trying to reduce travel costs are [...]
San Francisco-based ON24 says that the company grew sales 40 percent in 2008 and saw its client base expand to 700 customers. (It didn’t disclose exact revenues).
Sharat Sharan, chief executive, said that companies trying to reduce travel costs are looking for alternatives and that virtual shows — where attendees meet in a kind of virtual world where the main object is to engage in business communication — are a cheaper alternative. About 76 percent of On24’s customers say they’re replacing physical events with virtual events in 2009.
ON24 isn’t just blowing smoke. Sony Electronics held a trade fair last month for its high-end broadcast equipment business and also declared that it would expand its virtual trade shows at the expense of physical events because of the greater efficiency, lower cost, and need to serve customers better in the recession.
ON24 raised $8 million in funding last year, create an Asian headquarters in Singapore, expanded its sales and marketing, and invested heavily in infrastructure such as a second data center. ON24 has a variety of ways to stage shows, including creating on-demand streaming webcasts using Adobe Flash technology or virtual events on mobile devices.
During 2008, the company added 90 new customers, including 28 Fortune 500 companies. Customers include IBM, Cisco, United Business Media, Credit Suisse, GE Healthcare, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and the National Science Foundation.
ON24 says it will hold 6,000 virtual events in the first quarter. The company has 160 employees, including a big support team and 32 research and development personnel in San Francisco. The company has raised $46 million to date. Rivals include InXpo, Unisfair, TalkPoint, BrightTalk and StreamLogics.
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