Technology Assignment

“Technological advances in the past few decades have greatly increased the competitive nature of the economic business world. Companies have used software, computers and the Internet to transform their businesses from local places of business to national and global market competitors. Technology has also forced businesses to remain flexible, adapting their operations to newer and better technological advances” (Vietz). Many people around the world may argue that there are numerous benefits as well as disadvantages to the advancement of technology. Some benefits of technology stated in Leigh Gossel’s article “Pros and cons of the Internet in today’s society” are, that we are globally connected, convenience, ease of communication, rapid retrieval of information, Autonomy and Empowerment, efficiency, and access. Wow, when looking at it there are many good things that have come from technology but some would beg to differ. I know a few people such as my grandparents and one particular man in my CS 1000 class would say that technology has just made things more complicated. For example the man in my CS 1000 class is having a hard time with just the basic software’s such as Word. He complains that it is harder for him to do his job because they are now implementing technology in their work field which as caused him to come back to College to further his education. One common con to the recent advances in technology are, not everyone is technologically up to date. Some other cons found in Gossel’s article are, erosion of privacy, complacency/judgment, new category of crimes, sedentary lifestyle, and the simple fact that we are becoming dependent on technology. Depending on who you are speaking with, technology does seem to have a never ending list of pros and con’s. In my opinion, I think technology has brought some good changes in the field of tourism, leisure, and event planning.

Some of the beneficial advances that technology has brought to the tourism, leisure, and event planning field are the different kinds of event planning software programs. There are few programs that I found on the Business.com website which give a brief description of the different programs.

DW Event by DW Alliance
Fully hosted event management and registration software-highly customizable, advanced features for an unbeatable price. Includes custom event websites and branding, multiple registration types, advanced attendee, sponsor and exhibitor management, association/membership management, email marketing and website publishing/content management, automated billing and more. We differentiate ourselves from the competition by our personalized, flexible attention to each particular client case.

NEON Web Based CRM by Z2 Systems
Are you a Nonprofit or Membership organization? Then our web-based NEON CRM was built for you. We have complete event builder & registration integration with our Membership Management and/or Fundraising software. Our full relational CRM database can be accessed from any internet connection, connects to your web site, offers a donor login, and much more. Through NEON you can create & manage events, send emails, run reports, process payments, accept coupon codes & discounts, and much more.

Eventbrite by Eventbrite
Offers an online event registration tool allowing you to publish, promote and sell tickets to your events online. Eventbrite helps businesses & organizations of all sizes manage, promote and sell-out their events. Eventbrite is perfect for conferences, seminars, reunions, performances and more.

Ungerboeck Software by Ungerboeck Systems International
Ungerboeck is the world leader in end-to-end venue management software for convention & exhibition centers, stadia, arenas and theaters. For most organizations, Ungerboeck software delivers the capabilities of three to five separate software packages at a fraction of the cost including CRM, booking, event management, operations and more. Available in 6 languages, Ungerboeck software drives increased revenue and decreases costs for over 30,000 event professionals in 35 countries.

As a student going into the career field which these programs relate to, I find that there are many positive advantages to come from these software programs. One advantage of the software programs is the accessible tools provided for marketing. Over the summer I interned with event planning company and quickly learned that marketing is prevalent in the day to day duties of an event planner. Marketing can be very challenging without having the proper skills and knowledge. The DW Event program would have been help having this program available to me. This program includes custom event websites and branding, multiple registration types, advanced attendee, sponsor and exhibitor management, association/membership management, email marketing and website publishing/content management, and automated billing. Another advantage to these programs are the organizational tools it provides. Event planning can be quite hectic while trying to coordinate different events with in the same week, month or year. By having a program to regulate and organize these hectic schedules it can take a work load off of an event planner so they can use their time doing other related things for the upcoming events.

The one disadvantage I found using these specific programs is some people are not as technology advanced as others. I have not had a chance to actually come in contact with these programs but other people may find them difficult to use if they do not feel comfortable using computers. Another disadvantage I found is that event planners may become too reliable on these certain programs making their job easier. There is nothing wrong with simplifying things but event planners may become so dependent on them that they cannot function without them. Lastly, computers do make event planning easier by storing and organizing information but technology is not always reliable. Computers freeze, crash, delete programs and basically not are not as reliable as humans. I find that there needs to be a balancing with technology in the work force.