THE MEETINGS RAINMAKER
Snapping up SignUp4 in May, Aggarwal reduced competition in the meetings technology space and added customers to the Cvent roster. Adding Alliance Tech in a late-year agreement, he underscored Cvent’s future in onsite meetings tech
Coming off a successful IPO in 2013 and the acquisition of Elite Meetings in 2014, Cvent CEO Reggie Aggarwal, who has grown his technology stack and employee roster relatively organically since 1999, was hungry for more in 2015. He cooked up his biggest deal to date in the first half of the year, with the acquisition of Atlanta-based SignUp4. And in November, Cvent acquired AllianceTech, a clear expansion for Cvent’s technology stack.
The $22 million SignUp4coup was Aggarwal’s first bite at a competitor, and it went down easy, adding seasoned meetings executives to the Cvent team and a generous helping of customers. In terms of technology, Aggarwal said, the direction was clear from the outset." We are sunsetting the SignUp4 products. We did a gap analysis and looked at what they had but we didn’t, and there wasn’t a lot. We want to be sensitive to customer needs, but a single platform makes the most sense.”
Snapping up Austin-based technology firm AllianceTech, Cvent strengthened its position in the on-site technology space. Aggarwal said the year-end tie-up was a natural fit that will allow Cvent to offer a comprehensive technology platform to customers.
“Alliance Tech was, in our view, the market leader in the on-site technology space; [they have done] really innovative things in areas where Cvent didn’t have a lot of experience. Our tools have traditionally been strong before and after the event with sourcing, planning and analytics tools. But our goal has always been to provide a full platform.”
On-site event technologies are the key to satisfying a new wave of client requirements, especially as marketing departments embrace Cvent’s traditional meetings management technologies and look for additional tools to track the return on their meetings investments. “We have to innovate in that area to help our customers realize their ROI,” Aggarwal said, adding that clients are realizing they have to invest.
He continues to anticipate the market, to invest in innovation and to position Cvent to capture client investments before his competitors do.