Online event management software giant Cvent has acquired DoubleDutch, an event-app provider founded in 2011. The purchase comes about one year after Cvent bought QuickMobile, another event-app provider. Cvent also offers CrowdCompass, a mobile event app it purchased in 2012.
Reggie Aggarwal, CEO of Cvent, said in a statement that “by adding DoubleDutch’s industry expertise to Cvent, we accelerate our investment in mobile event technology. Together, we will continue to drive innovation in how attendees engage at events.” Lawrence Coburn, CEO and founder of DoubleDutch, added that “DoubleDutch is an innovator in the mobile event app space, and both Cvent and DoubleDutch have a shared mission to unlock the business value of human connection.”
Corbin Ball, a veteran event-tech consultant who runs CorbinBall.com, says that Cvent’s rationale for the most recent purchase is very likely the same as for its QuickMobile purchase: “to bring those customers into the Cvent ecosystem, especially into registration and strategic meeting management. Both [QuickMobile and DoubleDutch] had a significant stable of Fortune 500 clients.”
It is unknown whether all three of Cvent’s mobile-app services will remain as distinct products, or whether certain features of each product will be aggregated into two or perhaps even one mobile-event app. “I’m not certain about the fate of CrowdCompass; it is an aging product compared to the other two,” says Ball. “I believe that QuickMobile and DoubleDutch will remain separate entities for the short term. However, if Cvent’s merger with Lanyon Solutions is an example, then eventually the best features of each mobile app might be combined into one Cvent product as mobile software products require rewriting over time.”
With 300,000 event users and 25,000 supplier customers in its fold, Cvent has used acquisitions to become dominant across many areas of the online event management space. Besides the QuickMobile deal, Cvent also bought Social Tables, an event-diagramming, seating, and check-in product, as well as Kapow, a venue-booking service for corporate events, in 2018. One potential downside for the meeting-planner market is that “this latest purchase reduces the competitive landscape for mobile event apps, especially for high-end corporate clients,” says Ball. Then again, “the good news is that there are still some other strong mobile event app players out there, and competition is a good thing. We will continue to see continued developing functionality and innovation happening in this rapidly moving space.”
