Cvent and BCD M&I have partnered to offer Prostart to help initiate SMM programs

September 17, 2011 – NEW YORK and MCLEAN, VA – Cvent, the world's largest cloud-based provider of online event management, venue selection and web survey solutions, and BCD Meetings & Incentives, LLC® (BCD M&I™), an independent operating unit of BCD Holdings N.V. and a sister organization of BCD Travel, the world's third-largest travel management company, today announced a partnership to offer ProStart, a streamlined and cost-effective solution for initiating a strategic meetings management program (SMMP). ProStart is available as a standalone technology service for customers who wish to implement their own SMMP, or as a bundled solution to be used in conjunction with BCD M&I's consulting services.

"Most companies that are looking to reap the benefits of an SMMP either don't know where to start or are concerned about the initial investment into the program," said Dave Sonricker, Senior Vice President of Industry Relations and Technology Solutions at BCD M&I. "ProStart offers the long-term benefits of SMM practices with minimal initial investment and streamlined implementation. Through this partnership with Cvent, we can deliver what is best for our clients at every stage of their meetings program—from the data collection and business case development that comes with initial program design, to the complex tracking, analysis and expansion initiatives of a more mature SMMP."

ProStart includes the fundamental modules of Cvent's professional meetings management software—meeting registration, strategic sourcing, attendee management and reporting—and allows meeting managers to establish the baseline data and processes they need to centralize the meetings lifecycle, gain oversight of and rein in meetings spend, and track and share key meetings metrics across their organization.

"For many companies, deploying all the advanced components of an enterprise SMMP from the start is prohibitively expensive and complex," said Anil Punyapu, Cvent's Vice President of Enterprise Sales and Partnerships. "We've worked closely with BCD M&I over the past few months to develop a solution to these common roadblocks, so meeting managers can more easily get their programs off the ground. ProStart allows organizations to put in place the basic elements of an SMMP in a flexible environment that will support future growth of their program, all backed by the expertise and guidance of the Cvent and BCD M&I teams."

More information on ProStart will be available at Cvent booth #1289 at the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Annual Convention in Denver from August 21-24, 2011.