ACTIVE Network Business Solutions, a solution provider in the events management industry and a subsidiary of recently privatized, ACTIVE Network, and Lanyon, a leading provider of transient hotel program technology announced last week that they had completed a merger. The combined company will operate under the Lanyon name. ACTIVE Network, the parent company, will continue its focus on the consumer and web markets.

In a briefing with Ardent Partners last week, JR Sherman, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Lanyon told me that “this merger will allow our group, in conjunction with Lanyon, to become a true enterprise software provider. The functionality and capabilities of the SMART EVENTS Cloud fit perfectly with Lanyon’s transient hotel program technology platform, and will help us serve meeting and travel planners, buyers and event marketing teams, as well as hotels and meeting suppliers, with a new set of tools to develop and execute better events.”

Lanyon’s core offerings, which include audit and verification tools, as well as deep hotel and hospitality marketplace intelligence, currently serve both the buy and supply sides of the hospitality industry. The merger will support ACTIVE BSG’s cloud-based platform with the necessary architecture and functionalities to effectively input transient hotel spend and supplier management. This will improve upon the SMART EVENTS Cloud’s end-to-end events management platform, which already includes automated and robust processes for managing the full scope of meetings management (such as social media, sourcing, data / analytics, etc.).

“It’s very simple what we’re trying to do here,” added Kenny Cobern, Chief Operating Officer at Lanyon. “We’re providing a single channel for end-group meeting and travel spending. This ‘new’ Lanyon offering involves a simple user interface that will allow our users to manage all facets of meetings management, including the transient hotel piece. Why do we travel? To meet, to connect. It’s really the science of bringing people together.”

Ardent’s Instant Analysis

From a marketplace perspective, this merger presents an interesting “shock” to the events management technology industry. While solution mergers occur across all segments and markets, what’s particularly interesting about the “new” Lanyon offering is that is has the potential to truly bridge the gap between full-scale meetings management and transient hotel and hospitality management. The most effective technology mergers are the ones that involve two trusted brands, and Active and Lanyon’s new union will certainly present a wider suite of options for those enterprises looking to gain a holistic view of their events management spending and overall program.

The events management technology marketplace has been rapidly expanding in recent years as more and more enterprises seek a controlled means to improve the “attendee experience” and provide a more tailored, personal business encounter via mobile, analytical and social engagement tools. In fact, Andrew’s upcoming CPO Rising 2014: Convergence report will show that this category of spend has grown in stature, so much so that it appears definitively on the radar screen of Chief Procurement Officers around the globe.  While other providers, such as Cvent and Certain Software, have been focusing their efforts on the marketing aspects of contemporary events management, it seems that Active and Lanyon are approaching the industry from a broader perspective: support engaging management principles while providing a holistic view into total event spending.

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Tagged in: Ardent Partners Research, Christopher Dwyer, Complex Categories, Events Management, T&E