Handle with care

Online meetings generate a huge amount of data that can help planners deliver exceptional experiences. But it comes with added responsibility….

In the hybrid era, information changes hands faster than ever before, which is why data security and legal compliance must be top of mind for today’s event organizers. Data is currency in the digital age. People want assurances you’re keeping their information safe. Data security is all about trust, especially with the rise of virtual and hybrid events, where people are logging in at asynchronous times and creating a more traceable presence. Another integral part of good data security in event management is ensuring you’re compliant with current regulations.

Data can help inform communications strategy, fine-tune session topics, and give go-to-market teams a leg up by determining an attendee’s progress through the pipeline. But with great power comes great responsibility — and it’s important for everyone involved in the event industry to balance both the benefits and the risks in this new era of event data.

Data privacy laws on a global scale

Countries worldwide are tightening their security laws, so understanding these laws and ensuring compliance is critical. Moreover, event planners are seeing data protection regulations implemented on a global level, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Brazil’s Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD) and South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information (POPI).

 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance

The European legal framework of the GDPR governs data privacy laws within the EU. When in-person events transitioned to all virtual in 2020 — and introduced a hybrid element after the fact — brands expanded their reach to participants around the world. Virtual and hybrid conferences and exhibitions, trade shows and summits generate a huge amount of sensitive data.

But the rules determining how companies use that data vary from country to country. A thorough understanding of GDPR guides organizations to handle data safely and ethically. It provides planners with guidelines on keeping their data secure and compliant.

Protect your data and your attendees

Event planners and marketing teams reliant on data to provide exceptional event experiences for all attendees should consider these best practices for ensuring data security and privacy.

●      Enable single sign-on and two-factor authentication, which create safe gateways for information and people joining virtual events from all over the world.

●      Encrypt your documents and data, whether they’re stored on-premise or in the Cloud.

●      Train your staff, educating them about the dangers of ransomware and phishing. By empowering them with this knowledge, they can help keep your organization compliant and safe.

The right event management platform also ensures legal compliance via third-party evaluators, certifications and a dedicated support team able to monitor and mobilize for a fast response. When you’re vetting event management platforms, you’ll want to verify that your technology partner uses a variety of encryption technologies to protect the data you collect pre-, during and post-event. The tech vendor should also be transparent about their policies and data retention.

Event planners practising data and legal compliance demonstrate to all participants that they are prioritizing the protection of private and sensitive information.

About the author

Devin Cleary is the VP of Global Events at Bizzabo, an event technology platform for hybrid, virtual and in-person events. He was recognized as one of Connect Association’s “40 under 40” leaders in 2021. He was also featured in Event Marketer's 2017 "B2B Dream Team" and BostInno's "50 on Fire."