Stream > Case Studies > Accelevents Leverages Stream Chat for Enhanced User Experience in Virtual Events

Accelevents Leverages Stream Chat for Enhanced User Experience in Virtual Events

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Virtual Private Cloud
Wearables - Virtual Reality Glasses, Headsets & Controllers

Applicable Industries

Buildings
Cement

Applicable Functions

Maintenance
Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Building Automation & Control
Real-Time Location System (RTLS)

About The Customer

Founded by Jonathan Kazarian in 2015, Accelevents is an all-in-one event management platform for virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. The platform empowers hosts to expand their reach, engage with their audiences, and drive growth. Accelevents is dedicated to improving both the virtual event organization experience and the attendee experience. Chat is a crucial aspect of creating an engaging virtual events atmosphere. With attendees potentially spectating from anywhere in the world, Accelevents required a messaging infrastructure that could support a high volume of users and simultaneous interactions.

The Challenge

Accelevents, an event management and marketing company, experienced significant growth during the pandemic as the demand for virtual events surged. The company was already transitioning towards a hybrid model and was well-positioned to adapt to the changing market. However, to provide a unique and dynamic experience for their expanding user base, Accelevents needed a flexible and scalable chat solution that could be launched quickly and support large-scale events. The company initially considered a Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) solution but realized it lacked the flexibility they required. Accelevents also faced the challenge of deciding whether to build a chat functionality from scratch or buy a ready-made solution. Building a sophisticated chat functionality would be time-consuming and require significant engineering resources, which could be better utilized in developing other platform features.

The Solution

After evaluating several dedicated chat vendors, Accelevents chose to integrate Stream Chat due to its performance, reliability, and scalability. The company used Stream's React and React Native Chat SDKs and the Chat UI Kit, customizing the SDK features to meet the specific needs of their platform. This integration allowed Accelevents to create a prototype in less than a week. The decision to purchase a ready-made chat component enabled the Accelevents team to focus on iterating other platform features. The company found Stream's user presence indicators, slow mode, and push notifications particularly useful for virtual events. The presence indicators provided insight into the number of attendees at each session, while push notifications ensured that information posted on the virtual message board was pushed out to attendees.

Operational Impact

The integration of Stream Chat into Accelevents' platform has allowed the company to differentiate their event experience from competitors and launch new features faster. The ready-made chat component has proven to be performant, flexible, and reliable, meeting the specific needs of Accelevents' platform. The user presence indicators have boosted engagement by signaling to attendees that someone is waiting in the virtual booth to assist them. Push notifications have also been beneficial, ensuring that information from the virtual message board is disseminated to attendees. As in-person events slowly return, Accelevents is looking forward to leveraging the best aspects of its virtual event technology to reimagine its relationship to in-person events.

Quantitative Benefit

Accelevents was able to create a prototype in less than a week after integrating Stream Chat.
The company was able to focus on developing other platform features due to the time saved by purchasing a ready-made chat component.
The presence indicators provided real-time data on the number of attendees at each session.