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Convention Data Services News |
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Doug Levinson Named to TSE Forecasting Board
Doug Levinson has been appointed to the Trade Show Executive (TSE) Exposition Forecasting Board. The board is made up of well known and respected people from the event industry. Each month, TSE includes quotes and insight provided by board members on important industry topics. We are proud that Doug has been appointed to this illustrious group and know his insights will help many in the industry.
Amy Ladd Elected to IAEE DC Chapter Board of Directors
Amy Ladd, Convention Data Services’ Washington, D.C. area Account Executive, has been elected to the IAEE D.C. Chapter Board of Directors. Amy will direct the Sponsorship and Advertising Committee through her 2010 term on the board. Amy has been a long-time member of IAEE and brings years of industry experience to the board.
Mara Kolter, Julie Nelson and Peter Abraham also serve on their local IAEE Chapter Boards. Mara, CDS’ Business Development Manager is based in Chicago and the Co-Chair of the IAEE Midwestern Chapter Board. Julie Nelson, Account Executive based in Austin, Texas, serves on the IAEE Central Texas Chapter Board and is Chairman of the Communications Committee. Peter, Customer Relationship Manager based in Bourne, Massachusetts, serves on the board of the IAEE New England Chapter.
Network Upgrades—December 12, 2009
Convention Data Services will be performing upgrades to our network on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 4 a.m. EST that will last for four (4) to six (6) hours. During this time, our network will be offline and live registration pages will be unavailable. A message will appear on the first page of registration explaining the upgrades and requesting that visitors return shortly. This upgrade is part of CDS’ continuing investment in our infrastructure in order to provide our clients with the utmost in quality service. Please contact Maureen Kelly at mkelly@cdsreg.com with any questions.
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Best Practices: Onsite Security |
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Convention Data Services takes onsite data security very seriously. We have always had an aggressive program to protect data and equipment in the busy onsite environment. Here are some of the steps we take to protect your event’s information onsite:
- Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) for our servers provide battery backup power in case of power failure or interruption.
- Each night, a CDS employee removes the backup server from the venue and keeps it with them until it is needed the next day.
- DevCon alarms are attached to the onsite servers to alert security to any suspicious activity.
- Your Onsite Services Manager has a portable USB thumb drive in order to backup server data. This is in addition to the database being saved to a backup server each evening.
The protection and integrity of your data is a primary focus for CDS before, during and after your event. We will continue to explore and implement policies that make our systems the most reliable and secure in the industry.
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Social Media CDS LinkedIn Group |
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Convention Data Services has created a LinkedIn group page in order to distribute company and product updates. The site is open to current CDS clients and all are encouraged to join and comment. To join the group, sign-in to your LinkedIn account and search “groups” for “Convention Data Services.” You can also go directly to the group at this URL: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2327755. Please join, the group is a great way to keep up with all of our latest news and information.
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Product Showcase: Text Messaging |
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 Convention Data Services is proud to announce its new text messaging service, powered by GuestAssist. You can now use the power of an attendee’s mobile devices to deliver up-to-the-minute information and bring customer service to new heights with live responses to onsite inquiries. If your attendees know how to send and receive text messages on their cell phones, they already have the skills and equipment necessary to take advantage of this great service.
The basic service has two components: conversations and alerts. Conversations take place between attendees/exhibitors and show support personnel who respond to text messages through a browser-based interface. Conversations can be tracked and “tagged” for powerful reporting and insightful event information.
Alerts are relevant, up-to-the-minute messages sent to groups of attendees that you define. Groups can include session attendees, members, exhibitors, etc.—any group that fits your event’s format. There is no better way to instantly and accurately send the right information to the right people.
In addition to offering this service to our event clients, CDS will be using the service at selected events to support exhibitors who purchase X•Press Leads lead retrieval products and services.
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Product Showcase: New CDS Products at IAEE Expo! Expo! |
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CDS will be introducing new products and services at this year’s Expo! Expo! in Atlanta on December 9th. We have created several exciting social media integrations, new customer service options and a host of exhibitor ROI applications and initiatives. Make sure you stop by booth #321 for a demonstration of these great new products and services. While you’re in the booth, register for our Cape Escape give-away and win a trip to Cape Cod. If you are unable to attend Expo! Expo!, please contact your Account Executive if you are interested in getting more information.
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Product Update: X•Press Reports Updates |
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Convention Data Services has been engaged in ongoing analysis and upgrades to X•Press Reports in order to maximize the speed of the system. This project has included work on both individual reports as well as the reporting application itself.
When running reports, you will notice a decrease in wait time for results especially when running complex reports or reports run on events with a large number of attendees. In some cases, performance has been increased by as much as 90%.
New server hardware has also been purchased and installed over the last several months that further contributes to the increased speed and agility of the reporting system. These upgrades to the application and servers are part of CDS’ commitment to provide powerful and accessible data mining tools to both our staff and clients.
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Upcoming Events: |
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IAEE Expo! Expo!
December 8-10, 2009, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA.
Come visit CDS in booth #321 and register to win a Cape Escape vacation.
PCMA Annual Meeting
January 10-13, 2010, Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, TX.
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