Evidence

Microsoft’s Industry Solution University (ISU) Case Study

Microsoft’s Industry Solution University (ISU) is an annual series of conferences for Microsoft field sales staff focused on improving the sales of products and solutions to specific vertical industries. Each conference is held in a different geographic region and the speakers and content are tailored to the local audience. Each ISU audience is comprised of employees who are critically responsible for Microsoft’s success within strategic verticals in that geographic region. Their effectiveness has a major impact on Microsoft’s revenue and future opportunities.

For the 2009 series, Microsoft decided to invest in virtual event technology to achieve three key goals for two pilot regions. Their investment delivered amazing results by reducing costs, expanding reach, and providing a compelling attendee experience.

Goal 1. Reduce attendee travel costs to achieve the highest possible ROI.

Result: Over $500,000 in travel costs saved

Traditionally, each regional conference was held in a major city within the host region and attendees would travel for the week to attend in person. Although costs would vary for this in-person attendance, a 2-day conference with one extra day for travel would cost approximately $1,200 per attendee. With 440 attendees, the cost for attendee travel & expenses can cost over $500,000 for this multi-day event, which doesn’t account for the costs for the venue, equipment, or content, but can account for a significant portion of the event budget. With a virtual event, the travel costs are removed, resulting in an immediate and drastic increase in the ROI.

Goal 2. Expand the reach of conference content to educate every target attendee.

Result: Attendee reach increased by 18%

Of the 93 sessions made available to attendees, 42 were broadcast live. In most cases, multiple live broadcasts were held simultaneously, which is often a challenge for in-person attendees as they can only physically attend one session at a time. Nearly one third of the attendees were unavailable to watch any of the live broadcasts due to competing commitments. However, 55% of these attendees returned to watch the live sessions they missed on-demand within 24 hours of becoming available. Without the on-demand access, this significant portion of the audience would be unable to receive this important training.

Goal 3. Improve the event experience using Microsoft’s latest technology.

Result: An innovative event experience

Having the ability to easily search & filter all sessions, add live broadcasts to their calendar of choice, and add on-demand sessions to their playlists greatly enhanced attendees’ ability to find the content they needed and consume it on their terms. Over 27% of users added at least one live session to their calendar of choice (Outlook, etc) so that they would be sure not to miss it. Over 14% of attendees logged into Live Messenger during the course of the event, which enabled them to stay connected with the outside world and each other while attending sessions and browsing content.