The global virtual events market size has been growing lately, surprising no one. But what kind of growth are we looking at, and how long is it predicted to sustain? For those who are hoping for smooth sailing into the future with virtual events, this post gives a snapshot of predictions.
- How Big is the Global Virtual Event Market?
- How Much Has the Virtual Events Market Increased Recently?
- Global Virtual Events Market Analysis and Segmentation
- Forecast and Trends for Virtual Event Market Growth
- Final Thoughts
How Big is the Global Virtual Event Market?
By some estimates, in 2021 the global virtual event market size was valued at $114.12 billion. However, there are a few competing estimates on exactly how big the global virtual event market is. Among other things, the market is fragmented with several companies occupying market share, so depending on point-of-view and which slice of the market one occupies/looks at, the numbers can vary.
One thing’s for sure, though, expansion has been powered by an increase in corporate events. While the Covid-19 pandemic certainly drove a rise in the deployment of digital event platforms, it also appears that the platforms have stuck. Likewise, before the option to “WFH” expanded at many workplaces, many companies were already finding it desirable to explore virtual and hybrid options for attending their events. It seems likely pandemic conditions only accelerated what was already a trend toward adopting virtual events and virtual technology.
How Much Has the Virtual Events Market Increased Recently?
Currently (or, as of spring 2022), the market size was estimated as expanding at an approximate 20% rate. If we take the “$114.12 billion in 2022” figure as hypothetically accurate, a fairly reputable source article places the global market size of virtual events as around $77 billion in 2019. A $77 billion to $114 billion increase over 4 years (2019-2022) is mathematically a bit more than 20%, although virtual event adoption undoubtedly spiked in 2020-21. Having said all this, one thing is for certain: in recent years the global virtual event market size has expanded dramatically!
Global Virtual Events Market Analysis and Segmentation
Recent analysis has pinpointed at least two major trends in virtual event market segmentation.
Segmentation by Application
Currently “Unified Communications as a Service” (UCaaS or UC) is leading the virtual events market. This is a cloud-delivered unified communications model supporting six major functions of enterprise telephony, meetings (including audio/video/web conferencing), unified messaging, instant messaging and presence, mobility, and communications-enabled business processes. This means infrastructure is delivered, operated, maintained, and owned by UC providers. UC solutions facilitate communication “anywhere, anytime” with the benefit of improved employee productivity through the use of collaboration tools and software. UC was first adopted by large organizations however upcoming growth will likely be fueled by small- and mid-sized enterprises.
Segmentation by Geography
North America is positioned for significant market share over the coming period, and market growth in this region is forecast to be faster. Since North America has many global retail and IT organizations, global virtual events organized by these companies will drive market growth. The US is a key driver for the North American virtual events market.
Forecast and Trends for Virtual Event Market Growth
Widespread use of communication platforms and collaboration tools in an expanding number of areas and industry verticals, such as education, healthcare, retail and e-commerce, and even construction and manufacturing is predicted to power further market growth in the period through 2030. While growth is decelerating as the pandemic abates, the market is still predicted by some to reach a value of $657.64 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 21.4% over the coming 8 years.
Final Thoughts
In short, the global virtual event market size is still positioned to keep growing larger. Now is still an excellent time to take steps towards adopting a more virtual or hybrid event strategy, and to shop around for a best-in-class virtual event platform. Embracing new developments in doing business such as UC while also carefully watching the trends and forecasts is a winning approach that will lead to increased productivity and competitiveness overall and futureproof your business for some time to come.
