International Center of Business Assistance (ICBA) introduces the project of virtual exhibition 2020

Virtual exhibition. This is a virtual platform with the effect of full immersion, which is to unite sellers and buyers worldwide.

PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SOLUTION

Think of the business relations, exchange of relevant opinions, think of demonstration of achievements and public discussion.

All of this happens at exhibitions, fairs and forums. For a long time, exhibitions and fairs have been the place where the most advanced ideas were implemented in ordinary subjects, the most advanced technologies were seen in action, where you could communicate with professionals, meet like-minded people and find partners.

And now let's imagine that all of these things do not exist, that exhibitions do not take place, contacts in the business environment and with adherents are disrupted, and partnerships do not get the required development.

It seems to be something out of science fiction movies. But ... experience shows, that such formats of relationships can be easily broken. The spread of COVID-19 and the measures taken by governments to protect population have shown that it is the right time to use technological developments to ensure the continuity of business and public relations.

We have combined the requests of those people and communities who need a continuous exchange of opinions, achievements, and business information. And we created the concept of ViEx (virtual exhibition), a place which is completely safe and secure in all aspects, including the dimension of business security itself. With the assistance of previously unavailable technologies and services, now you can create an exhibition of products and achievements, organize a video conference with a potential partner, conduct discussions on areas of interest and, finally, conclude significant deals.

MAIN ISSUE

Necessities of the business community and public forums always require constant communication, including personal ones. Different occasions that can disrupt these types of communications may occur unexpectedly and last for an unpredictable time.

Important for business and public life events may be canceled for reasons of higher priority. As we can see, many important events, such as annual exhibitions and forums of various directions, were canceled by orders of government bodies in 2020 due to the pandemic.

As a result of such cancellations, a large number of industries and services were not able to form long-term development plans, understand the dynamics of client and partner relationships. An example of such cancellations is Farnborough International air show (France) which was not held this year and failed exhibition and conference on naval weapons DIMDEX 2020 (Qatar).

Even such important international socio-political discussions as the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (Russia) and the Boao Forum for Asia (China) were postponed indefinitely.

Considering the pace of life in the modern world, all the problems mentioned above need to be solved as soon as possible.

METHODS OF SOLUTION

Not so long time ago the solutions to these issues were really a big problem, had only a partial nature and the process of their settlement had been difficult due to the lack of the modern technologies.

Currently, with the availability of well-prepared technological base, including such modern communication channels as 4G+, 5G, and the promising STARLINK project, it seems real and possible to operate on the base of online platform, specially created for stable business and social interaction and not subjected to any external factors.

Such kind of a solution is the concept of ViEXby ICBA — a software and hardware complex that allows user to participate as an exhibitor or a simple visitor at exhibitions. This complex allows to study and review products, and most importantly, to conclude transactions in any place of the world where there is an Internet connection.

ViEXby ICBA allows you to establish online communication directly with the exhibitor, as if it was a regular meeting at the exhibition. And even if the language of communication between the exhibitor and the visitor is different, ViEXby ICBA technology allows you to use the services of an interpreter as if a translator would be next to you.

ViEXby ICBA also provides a secure virtual meeting room for private negotiations.

Presentations and reports for the wider audience are possible in the form of video conferences and webinars on the basis of ViEXby ICBA platform, in the virtual congress halls and auditoriums which are provided specifically for such purposes.

Through ViEXby ICBA, it is also possible to hold a wide variety of public discussions, forums, and events for specialized professionals.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

ViEXby ICBA is an international exhibition, fair, forum just as you usually imagine these events, but now you can visit them without leaving the computer.

The best achievements of the gaming industry are combined with a pragmatic solution of applied issues and problems.

Interaction is implemented in the virtual environment of ViEXby ICBA, which provides pavilions that exhibitors can rent or order personal. Such pavilions are literally the same as how we used to see them.

Personal stands are built inside ViEXby ICBA in accordance with the preferences and style of the exhibitor. Flexible configuration for the task can vary from a standard to a multi-floor or multi-store one. Placing video and / or audio accompaniment and presentations will allow you to consider the most unexpected requirements.

The ability to create and use specialized halls for specific thematic events provides an opportunity to hold whatever you want: from exhibitions of specific regions to congresses on ecology and climate.

The details of the product or service presented by the exhibitor are implemented in accordance with the modern approach using all available technologies, including direct communication with the exhibitor in the video call mode with the provision of services of interpreter if needed.

ViEXby ICBA provides a well-developed system of internal navigation and reference information. External users will not be able to get disoriented — they will be met by a virtual assistant which will tell them how to find what falls within the scope of their interests.

Besides, ViEXby ICBA is a good advertising platform aimed at profile participants and visitors. No other platforms can provide such convenient placement of advertising materials in various formats, including 3D models.

ViEXby ICBA is a scalable platform. The next step in the development of the ViEXby ICBA concept will be the full usage of VR technologies in order to fully recreate the effect of direct presence, including the usage of VR helmets and kinetic sensors, and the transfer of avatars-participants in the VR zone.

Another stage of the development of ViEXby ICBA is the usage of smart-contract technologies and transaction arbitrage, including internal payment system.

We cannot fail to mention that the ViEXby ICBA as well as regular mass events, is a good platform for advertisers, because all users of the ViEXby ICBA will be able to see the placed ad.

ECONOMIC AND ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS

It is no secret that any mass event requires significant resources and expenses from the company. If a traditional exhibition, fair or forum takes place outside the country of the participant, which is not an exception nowadays, then quite large sums are spent on preparing stands or exhibition areas and on transportation of samples. Besides, you should add the cost of organizing of such trip to this amount.

Given that, we understand that the ViEXby ICBA is a tool that, with a significantly greater coverage of the target audience, will allow us to reduce costs noticeably. If the company's savings are spent on, for example, advertising and promotion, the total effect will have a very large impact, which is currently impossible to assess in details.

In the organization of public and/or industry discussions, the effect of reasonable economy also presents, but this index is an additional one to the increased efficiency of highly topical events. This is partly confirmed by online meetings, which were held during the pandemic, including discussions on international agendas.

It will be much faster to organize inter-industry and inter-country interaction within the ViEXby ICBA.

EXTERNAL EXPERIENCE

Some attempts to implement concepts that vaguely resemble the ViEXby ICBA have taken place before. But the main obstacle to the implementation of such projects was the lack of appropriative technical and technological base and modern software and hardware solutions. In the recent past, devices did not possess necessary computing power and implementable communication channels. Speed-limited and relatively expensive mobile traffic was an especially big issue. Currently, there are no significant obstacles to use the ViEXby ICBA on modern personal devices. Technical specifications of the most modern gadgets allow users to use them for the task under discussion.

Another significant factor hindering the development of ideas embedded within the ViEXby ICBA was the established traditions of holding exhibitions, fairs and forums.

The turning point in the demand for solutions embedded within the ViEXby ICBA was the understanding of the existence of external circumstances that significantly affect the capabilities of the usual and traditional way of the organization of exhibition.

In a period of general slowdown of business activity, due to counter-COVID measures, there were a lot of attempts to held events in online format in one or another way. Mostly it was the format of videoconference, but this type of communication has shown many limitations. This allowed us to conclude that the ideas of the ViEXby ICBA will fully meet the requirements, set by business and society for comprehensive online interaction.

MAIN POINTS OF THE PROJECT

Development of the basic digital environment. This is the part of the internal user interface where navigation takes place and the necessary services are created. In essence, this is the part of the project which is implemented as a game space with the usage of graphic and interactive achievements of the modern gaming industry.

  • Development of package solutions for participants (standard stand, banners).

  • Development of individual solutions (individual stands, videos, additional options).

  • Development of functionality for inserting display ads depending on the region.

  • Development of a portal for interaction (personal accounts on icba).

  • Congress hall.

  • Virtual assistant.

TARGET EFFECT

The practical implementation of the ViEXby ICBA concept will allow participants of business and public interaction to significantly increase the effectiveness of their projects.

Talking about exhibitions and fairs, the ViEXby ICBA environment will not only reduce the time from generation of the product idea to its full presentation to potential partners and buyers with the usage of all of the opportunities for online communication, including «language-free» possibility, but also allow you to conclude direct secure transactions based on smart contracts, calculate logistics chains and consider the specifics of customs clearance during the transportation of goods.

ViEXby ICBA is a continuous solution for exhibition and fair activities, considering the possibility of conducting thematic, seasonal or permanent exhibitions. ViEXby ICBA solutions do not have territorial restrictions and are able to attract a significantly larger number of potential participants and visitors.

In its activities, ViEXby ICBA relies on close cooperation with Chambers of Commerce and Industry of various countries and regions, business associations, including international ones. This ensures a large coverage of potential participants, for whom participation in the ViEXby ICBA project will be both cost-effective and quick in implementation.

In the context of conducting various types of public discussions, ViEXby ICBA, due to its high efficiency in comparison with traditional events, will allow the conduction of the discussions of current issues, exchange of the opinions, collection and comparison of expert opinions with much higher efficiency.

The ViEXby ICBA is a logical evolution of the idea of «business universe» which was presented by the International Center of Business Assistance at the Russia-Turkey intergovernmental commission in 2019.

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