SHELTON, Connecticut — BPA in the worlda global provider of compliance assurance for media, technology, events and sustainability standards, announced the acquisition of VSefthe global data format for the digital events industry.
“The lack of a standardized data format leads to inefficiency, incomparability and increases the risk of error,” said Rich Murphy, president and CEO of BPA Worldwide. “The rapid growth of digital events during the pandemic has led to a wave of new digital event solution providers, each with their own data definitions and formats. It is very difficult to leverage, communicate and compare data across multiple solutions. This friction is holding back growth and has made it necessary to create an industry standard.”
VSef was launched in early 2021 in response to the rise of digital event platforms and virtual events due to the pandemic. Leading event organizers and platforms, including Information markets, Tarsus Group, Emerald Exhibitions And Clarion Eventssupported its goal of creating a global standardized data format for digital events early on. VSef also received support from strategic industry partners, including Event Industry Council, UFO and the Society of Independent Trade Fair Organizers.
BPA Worldwide also identified the lack of data standardization as a problem and launched the Reporting Standards for Digital Events initiative. In 2021, BPA Worldwide and VSef began collaborating to create a single industry standard for digital events.
“BPA has worked with the industry to create the Digital Events Reporting Standards, a global initiative to create common definitions, criteria and data formats,” Murphy said. “We have worked with the VSef team to align data elements where possible. There has been strong cooperation between the two groups, and having one leadership team will allow us and the industry to move forward even faster.”
As many events and organizers pivot to digital while adapting to COVID restrictions, there has been a need for a single way to consistently collect and track data across all technologies used for virtual events. In addition to solving the challenges caused by non-standardized data, adopting an industry standard has future benefits.
“The short-term gains will be improved operations, communication and data quality for users. The long-term benefits are countless, including the creation of new digital markets based on high-quality first-party data,” Murphy said.
“VSef has made great strides in mobilizing and aligning the industry toward this common data format goal. BPA has the resources to build on this foundation and move the industry forward more quickly,” Murphy said.
Contact Rich Murphy at (203) 447-2804 or [email protected]