IBM Events App /
Ultraphone
Role
Technologies
A full-stack virtual events platform built to host engaging, interactive broadcast experiences
The IBM Events App provides a comprehensive solution for virtual event management, allowing attendees to participate in live or pre-recorded broadcasts with personalized scheduling and real-time interaction capabilities using its companion platform, Ultraphone. The platform handles multiple concurrent events while ensuring users are routed to the correct event and can freely explore and view other sessions at any time.
Homepage to show key event information including dates, speakers and can't miss sessions
Live or pre-recorded video is accompanied by real-time chat with viewers around the world
Customizable agenda for viewers to select their preferred sessions when available
Creating the premiere virtual events platform for the Global IBM Salesforce
Problem
When the majority of the tech industry had to quickly transition to remote work during the height of the Covid pandemic, the IBM Global Sales Enablement team needed a way to virtually deliver internal events around the globe to educate sellers on IBM’s latest product and software offerings, demo new technologies and connect colleagues and clients.
Solution
My team created a virtual events platform to host IBM’s quarterly Sales Kickoff events for each of 4 major geographies, including support for live and pre-recorded broadcasts, channel-based chat, customizable agendas and interactive questions and polls.
Key contributions
State Management
Built a scalable component hierarchy to handle multiple event streams, user agendas, and real-time interactions simultaneously across the application.
Personalized Scheduling
Designed and developed an interactive agenda builder to allow users to craft custom schedules by selecting individual sessions or subscribing to thematic tracks
Real-Time Interactivity
Integrated WebSocket connections to power live quizzes and games during broadcasts and created responsive UI elements that update instantly as audience members participate
Intelligent Event Routing
Developed a registration-based routing system to seamlessly directs users to their appropriate event streams with conditional rendering
Outcomes
In this project, I built sophisticated, user-centric interfaces to handle complex real-time interactions while maintaining clean code architecture and excellent user experience.
Business
- 80+ events run via the Events App platform to date
- Increased NPS year over year Data captured via interactions showed an NPS increase year over year aligned to new enhancements added to the platform
- $250K / year saved in third-party vendor costs Cost savings by reducing the need for third-party vendor support
- Dedicated support Building the application in-house allowed for faster new feature implementation and complete control over the product roadmap
Technical
- WebSocket integration Enabled bidirectional real-time communication and instant data synchronization
- Complex state management Leveraged built-in and custom React hooks for conditional rendering
- RESTful API integration Integrated third-party APIs to automate data updates, reducing manual processing time by 50% and eliminating data entry errors
- IBM Carbon expertise Developed front end using the IBM Carbon component library, creating reusable custom components by extending base Carbon elements to address specific use cases