Five questions with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority's CIO
We sat down with our Chief Information Officer, Steve Snyder, and here's what he had to say about event technology in Boston.
Q. How do the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center stand out when it comes to event technology?
A. I believe that one of the most important aspects of technology deployment isn’t necessarily to have the latest technology itself, but rather the organization's ability to make decisions about and implement new technologies that make sense for the business and its customers. At the MCCA, we spend a lot of time making sure that the technology we are using matches the ever changing needs of our clients and attendees.
Moreover, we've invested significantly in our IT team to support all aspects of development and implementation. I believe that our IT operation is second to none in the meetins and conventions industry.
Q. What is the one thing meeting planners should know about our facilities other than we have complimentary wireless connectivity?
A. Our clients should know that we have staff looking forward to planning their IT needs long before their event is scheduled to arrive. We encourage clients to actively work with us so that we can help leverage our technology infrastructure to both save them money and let our world-class technology infastructure get to work for them!
Q. What is it like being a CIO in Boston, in an incredibly hi-tech environment, surrounded by groundbreaking innovators, entrepreneurs?
A. What a great environment to work in! I am motivated every day by Boston's culture of innovation and take every opportunity to push the envelope when it comes to implementing new and exciting technologies. I also enjoy that New England has a very collaborative group of like-minded CIOs. We get together regularly to discuss our initiatives, vendors, successes and failures very candidly for the betterment of the whole tech community.
Q. What technology initiative are you most looking forward to showing off when PCMA Convening Leaders comes to town?
A. Well first I'm looking forward to showing that in Boston, the most important aspect of our technology platform is our ability to say yes when client's ask if we can do something out of the ordinary for them.
We pride ourselves on state-of-the-art event technology, but we're also proud of our flexibility at both the Hynes and BCEC. We aren't afraid to try new things because we know we have the bandwidth and systems to support them!
And the most important question...
Q. Where is your favorite place to get a cup of chowder in Boston?
A. I don’t think you can go wrong by popping over to a Legal Seafood, just a short walk from both our Hynes and the BCEC. And as strange as it sounds, I also really enjoy the chowdah at one of our stellar steak houses, Abe and Louie’s, also a short walk from the Hynes!