ARTICLE SUMMARY
In this article, Shapiro (2020) has discussed the various new tools and features that Groupize 3.0 includes to meet the demands and needs of its potential clients and offers an all-in-one solution to arrange meetings of any size. The primary reason to launch this new upgraded version, according to the CEO of the company is to let their clients use only one tool for their all kind of meeting needs. In this regard, he stated that more than one-fifth of their clients were using Groupize only for simple meetings and they have to use other programs for strategic meetings and management program. In the words of Charles de Gaspe Beaubien, the company’s CEO, this new version has brought state-of-the-art technology to assist companies in managing their expenses, controlling travel and risk for all meetings, and executing different projects and events with cloud-based management solutions. He further added that unlike Groupize 1.0 and 2.0 which were designed for small and simple meetings respectively, Groupize 3.0 is for complex meetings that also provide the same simplicity, usability, and visibility the company is known for.
This way the new version ensures that organizations’ all types of needs are successfully met. There are five core components of Groupize i.e., Visibility, Expense, Planning, Logistic, and Meeting Intelligence. The visibility function eases the process of registering all meetings, the expense function meets the procurement and finance requirements of the clients to ensure policy compliance, the planning feature is designed to accommodate both professional and occasional planners, the logistic module covers the group travel and events and lastly, the meeting intelligence provides assistance in covering spend, budgets, flight manifests and rooming lists. This way as the writer mentioned, Groupize 3.0 connects meeting planners, travel managers, administrative assistants, procurement and finance professionals, and any other third parties.
PERSONAL REVIEW OF THE ARTICLE
The article primarily discusses the new features of Groupize 3.0 which include Visibility, Expense, Planning, Logistic, and Meeting Intelligence along with the fundamental motives behind its launch. In this regard, it is a very informative article to understand how different companies are addressing the needs of large and small corporations and utilizing new innovative new approaches to meet that needs with technologically advanced solutions. Groupize is one of these companies which has successfully comprehended the demands of the industry and has incorporated new tools in its new version that effectively satisfy them. The CEO of the company has stated in this regard, that the new version allows companies to manage all kinds of meetings efficiently and thus they do not need any other platform for strategic complex meetings management. It is also important to note that the new functionalities are very helpful for companies to organize their meetings in the post-pandemic era when businesses have started to regain their strength and consequently the travel industry is booming once again.
However, since the situation due to pandemic has not been improved entirely, there is a need of unique ways to arrange meetings that potentially safeguard the health of the participants. In this regard, the CEO of the company has rightly emphasized the role of technology to meet the dynamic demands of the organizations. Therefore, it seems that the company is also committed to upgrading its unique software continuously to include more features for projects and recruiting. However, for the time being, the need is to minimize the end-to-end risk related to the COVID-19 which is an integral part of the company’s development to make all meetings and events traceable and auditable. Thus, I think that the other companies should also devise new ways for their sustainable growth in the travel and event management industry.
References
Shapiro, M. J. (2020). Groupize Expands Simple-Meetings Platform to Serve More Complex Events | Meetings & Conventions. Www.meetings-Conventions.com. https://www.meetings-conventions.com/News/Meetings-Technology/Groupize-3-Event-Technology-Expands-to-All-Meetings
