Cvent Event Management vs. IBM Video Streaming

I've been using Cvent for over 10 years, and they have continued to grow and meet the moment. IT's great for small and large events. It is customizable, and you can make it fit just about any event you have.

Very limited customization features. Permissions are a mess too if you want to have people assigned as chat moderators for events for instance, but dont want them access to the admin panel. The quality of the broadcast and live captions work well, but they charge extra for live captions. For operating a video on demand site, the design of the page is really poor and limited on customization. Been a user for years and seen almost no new innovation on the platform which has been disappointing. The metrics are a mess on the user panels too. They do provide an api link for your external metrics and/or data dumps for using something like tableau, but that features not really something to write home about and a rather basic offering. This is an expensive platform with limited options and an outdated style unfortunately. We have been getting by for our uses but there's nothing really keeping us with IBM if another platform offering came around

• Highly configurable, with a wide range of options for virtual, in-person, and hybrid events
• An optimal blend of functionality with ease of use, including a strong and well-communicated road map
• Pragmatic yet visionary incorporation of AI for enhancing event building, production, and attendee experience
• Robust and reliable, particularly given the complexity of the underlying architecture

Incentivized

• IBM Video Streaming allows for the integration of interactive elements into video content, such as quizzes, polls, and live Q&A sessions. This can make learning more engaging for young students by making it interactive and fun, thus increasing their attention and participation.
• Teachers in a K-5 setting can access and share professional development materials and teaching resources through the platform. This can help them stay updated on the best practices for early childhood education, innovative teaching methods, and subject-specific strategies, ultimately benefiting their students.
• IBM Video Streaming provides the capability for teachers to create a library of on-demand educational videos. This is particularly useful for young learners who may need to revisit concepts multiple times to fully understand them. It also supports differentiated learning by allowing students to learn at their own pace.
• Young students often benefit from visual aids in their learning process. IBM Video Streaming can deliver high-quality video content that includes animations, demonstrations, and visual explanations of concepts. This can be particularly effective in subjects like science, math, and reading, where visualizations can enhance understanding.

Incentivized

• The "Badges and Certificates" feature can use some work. This is where you build out your name badges, invoices, receipts, etc. The system works but the build feature is difficult to line everything up and navigate. Also, building the receipts/invoices can be difficult to adjust for when things for to multiple pages. It doesn't allow you to pre-program margins so it just continues to the top of the next page without leaving additional space.
• Processing payments for multiple registrations at once after the registrations have already been submitted could also be improved. Currently, the only opportunity you have to submit a payment for a full group is when they register initially. After that phase, if you need to enter a check payment or process a credit card after they've finalized their registration, you have to go into each attendees record to process the payment which can get tedious.
• I would like to see a functionality where we can collect actual signatures during the registration process vs. just having a check box available. For some of the more sensitive materials we need our attendees to approve of, an actual signature feature would be very beneficial.

Incentivized

• Occasionally, we experience a form of static that lasts for about 1 to 2 minutes. It appears in the live stream and in the auto-recorded file, but not in the live worship assembly. It occurs roughly 1 in every 4 hours of webcast time. I wish there was a way to trace the source of that recurring static. The diagnostic tools could be more robust.
• It would be nice if the chat room allowed a user photo/avatar for each user to personalize that a little more.
• I have wished for a way that an admin could use a “laser pointer” on the video window to point out something on the feed that other live viewers could see.
• It would be wonderful to have a mini-tutorial for viewers who are not technically savvy that would inform them of how to get to the site and explain how they can use the software. For example, how they can see and type in the chat room, how to maximize the screen and make it smaller. Some of our viewers are in nursing homes or otherwise limited in capability to learn to use this on their own.

Incentivized

I enjoy the app and what it has to offer. It makes working in events a lot easier! Before I would have to go to our warehouse and print name badges and write out different names if they needed it. Attendees also did not have access to our breakout sessions. Now, I can adjust names onsite and we can allow attendees to access our sessions before the event begins

Incentivized

Our organization depends heavily on this streaming service. Now that we have the option of allowing our clients to attend meetings virtually, we can never retract that option as so many of our clients love the flexibility. Also, we have no complaints with the service itself. It is reliable and dependable and any issues we have encountered have never been to blame on the service but rather our lack of knowledge of it or needing to update our embed code

Incentivized

It takes a bit of work to really understand how the system works and what is connected. But it is worth it to take the time, do the training to learn. Once you get the Ah Ha moment, then everything starts to flow better, and you can see how it will work.

Incentivized

The user interface is pretty straightforward, but simply needs optimization. (Please hire a seasoned UX person to fix it.) However, all of the key features are there and understandable. It's a great platform overall, a bit expensive, and could use some more options for its viewing experience, and a better "smart" embedding window for mobile applications.

Incentivized

It's not very often the platform has switched off or had errors. That only occurs when multiple people are usually in the same events making changes. On our end it usually slows the platform down , not an often occurrence

Incentivized

Absolutely. We have never had an outage problem or any application errors that I have been privy to. We are duly notified generally in advance of outages or updates

Incentivized

It works well, integrated into other platforms hasn't cause problems. However saying that it cause other platforms such as iCapture to work slower and slightly glitchy- this has been raised but for now its a put up with it type of issue. This has only recently started happening

Incentivized

As we use it now, we are satisfied with the streaming performance. I cannot speak to integration yet as we have yet to engage in that but have plans to in the future

Incentivized

The company offers 24/7 customer support, including phone, email, and chat support, to ensure that we can get help when we need it. Additionally, the platform has a comprehensive help center and knowledge base, including user guides, tutorials, and FAQs, which help us troubleshoot issues on our own. Cvent also provides training and support resources, including onboarding assistance, live training sessions, and webinars, which help us get the most out of the platform. Overall, Cvent appears to be committed to providing excellent customer support and resources to its users, which can help ensure a positive user experience and successful events.

Incentivized

We funded 'white glove' service as our timelines were tight and our needs were well-defined. Tier 1 and Tier 2 support were able to help us get up and running in shorter order than we would have on our own. Documentation on the eCDN product had gaps, increasing the time to resolve and created concerns about success.

Incentivized

Our on-site trainer was very knowledgeable in the product and gave us very important pointers on best practices and how to perform tasks in the simplest manner

Incentivized

I have used the webinars and cvent community a lot to gain more knowledge. I am usually always able to find the answers I need

Incentivized

It would have been nice during implementation if we had received more pointers on how to organize our parked report folders, libraries, etc. to avoid the mess we find ourselves in today. If we had known ahead of time the limitations we could have planned better.

Incentivized

Ustream is easy to implement. It takes any stream we have thrown its way and distributed it quickly and with quality. When talking to others that are pursuing live stream implementations, I often remind them that the technology used to distribute your live stream is less important than the quality of the content you are distributing. Taking care to use the right camera equipment, the proper encoder, and quality sound gear will result in a high-quality stream that will allow the strength of the Ustream CDN to shine.

Incentivized

There is no other tool that offers the same range of solutions as Cvent, all under one umbrella. With minimal reliance on APIs, client and associate data are more secure, making all stakeholders more comfortable with the software. All other solutions I looked at only solved one piece of the puzzle I was dealing with.

Vimeo offers better tools for on-demand like chapters and marketing tools. But their live options are limited to event durations. YouTube can stream for longer durations but IBM 24/7 stream has been much more reliable and easy to use.

Incentivized

There are multiple people across our organisation who use CVENT Event Management. They do only use the simple features and thats mainly for registrations, but the simplicity of being able to duplicate events makes life easier for those members. They are able to duplicate events and keep them running smooth and take payments.

Incentivized

IBM global network.

Incentivized

• Cvent Event Management has definitely provided great value with our exhibitors. It's a well organized system that they all trust and utilize each year now.
• Cvent Event Management has also provided positive ROI on the app front. Our clients rely on the app to share information and it's saved us a lot of money in paper printing costs!

Incentivized

• Our ROI is measured by the provision of ministry and satisfaction of our congregation. We are extremely pleased with our USTREAM and feel that it is a valuable asset to our church.

Incentivized