OpenThinking – Middle East

"Cvent is a 5 Star event management system that is built for organizing event from the planning phase to the post-event phase. It is well designed to provide everything that you need as event managers as well as everything that you never thought about or maybe you forgot to plan for."

Iyad Mourtada,Managing Director, OpenThinking FZ-LLC

The Old School Way

As a training company in the UAE, OpenThinking FZ-LLC was looking for a more efficient way to plan their workshops, trainings, and other events. The team was using online forms with limited features to manage their event registration process. They faced hours of manual labour and had to juggle between multiple spreadsheets to organize and track training information. Due to such limitations, the team could only conduct 1-2 large events annually. OpenThinking was looking for a management system that could update delegate information in real-time, facilitate the registration processes, and help them navigate the entire event lifecycle from start to finish.

The Problem Solver

OpenThinking focused their search on an all-in-one event management solution with features deemed critical for their success: simple online registration, easy website creation, automated email capability, and detailed reporting features. After searching extensively, in 2012 the organization began a partnership with Cvent that exists to this day. “It is always about the cost and benefit. If you can automate the work and streamline the process to save money and improve the quality of your event management using state-of-the-art technology like Cvent, you will definitely pay for it,” says Iyad Mourtada, Managing Director at OpenThinking.

Following the collaboration, OpenThinking was able to launch its event faster by automating and streamlining all the manual work typically associated with event planning. The team could automatically update attendee information in real-time, which allowed them to focus on larger, more strategic concerns. Additionally, the team also leveraged the Cvent Supplier Network, and took full advantage of the ability to receive proposals from hotels in less than 24 hours, and book venues based on exact specifications at the lowest price. With an increase in conversion from leads to confirmed delegates and the automation of the event planning process, OpenThinking was able to boost its ROI and share all the necessary results of their events with their stakeholders.

Passing with Flying Colors

By automating the entire event management process, the team at OpenThinking was able to save 60% of their working hours off the planning and marketing of their events. This time savings means that the team can now successfully conduct four large annual events as well as numerous small trainings and workshops. The new online registration process is also a great hit amongst OpenThinking’s delegates, as it is reliable, easy to use and can be customised to their needs. Previously, around 20% of their clients complained about the registration process and preferred sending registration forms in a PDF format. With the implementation of an event management platform, less than 5% of their clients now do manual registration.The company is extremely pleased with Cvent’s event management platform, and the fact that this software has helped them cut 40% of the costs associated with managing events. Cvent has allowed OpenThinking to execute successful, engaging events while saving time, money, reducing stress, delivering exceptional delegate experiences, and maximizing event ROI.