Verizon Refocuses Its Virtual Meetings Platform on In-Person Events

U.S. telecoms conglomerate Verizon is ramping up efforts to gain a foothold in the meetings and events sector. The company is better known for its mobile network, but it also operates a video-conferencing and virtual meetings platform called BlueJeans. That division is now delving deeper into the meetings and events sector as corporate travel recovers. The unit's boss thinks meetings platforms have become “commoditized,” so he's now developing a range of features designed to better blend the worlds of virtual and real-life. “Meetings is meetings," said Chris Lewter, general manager of BlueJeans by Verizon. "It’s a bit of commoditization right now. Everyone kind of does meetings, it just depends who you prefer, or who your company is using.” His comments follow a recent Deloitte report that found “inadequate conferencing software” was boosting the recovery of corporate travel, with conferences now one of the top purposes for a business trip. Hybrid Work Focus The meetings sector is realigning itself after the pandemic. First came the layoffs, now come the mergers and acquisitions. Cvent is r