People have been talking about SMM for more than a decade. Now, thanks to a growing understanding of how it works, combined with a greater need for accountability in the wake of the recession, SMM seems finally poised to receive the recognition it deserves as a valuable meeting and event industry asset.

And it isn’t as complicated as many think. At its heart, it’s simply a philosophy to take all the pieces that make up a corporation’s meetings universe and tie those pieces together into a consistent and efficient whole, with the aim of cutting costs, mitigating risk, improving service quality and positively affecting the business bottom line.

SMM isn’t a lofty principal with big, vague promises—quite the opposite, actually. Its edge is in the specific recommendations it makes to standardize each step within meetings management starting from the moment before someone decides to hold a meeting.

At IMEX America, you can learn more about SMM practices on a global scale by attending "Global Meetings Management Study: IBM Journey toward Global Meetings Management" on Monday, Oct. 8, (10:30 - 11:30 a.m./10.30 - 11.30) in room Titian 2202 at the Venetian/Palazzo Congress Center. 

Presented by Kevin Iwamoto and Paul Wakelin, this session will be a high level discussion about global SMMPs and the benefits, challenges and lessons learned. The session will explore the real experiences companies and partners go through as they take up the challenge to provide holistic meetings management to operating regions around the globe.

Learner outcomes include:

• Understand the benefits of taking an SMM program global
• Prepare for the pitfalls and nuances of operating an SMM across various cultures and markets
• Learn the steps you need to take to get started with a global roll-out

The session is sponsored by: AT&T Park, AVT Event Technologies, Gaylord Entertainment, MCI and the MPI Foundation (CIC Approved)

—Additional reporting by Dalia Fahmy