Founded in 2007, AHEAD grew up in the data center and retains its deep infrastructure expertise at the core of its business. But as the market has changed, the company has always invested ahead of the curve. With expansion into strategic consulting and managed services, along with innovation in practices like cloud, security, and automation, AHEAD has become a key partner for countless enterprises in their path to digital business transformation. Over the past year, AHEAD has additionally completed several significant mergers, acquiring Data Blue and Sovereign Systems in 2019, followed by RoundTower Technologies and Kovarus in 2020, subsequently creating a powerhouse combination with more than $2.1 billion in annual revenue and a footprint that stretches from coast to coast.
Like many corporations, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted AHEAD’s company events. With the obstacle of not being able to come together in-person, AHEAD was looking to host their annual company kickoff. Usually, these meetings have been held in Chicago, at the beginning of the calendar year and although there was hope of meeting in-person, they decided to opt for an alternative method. Afterall, AHEAD was looking for this company kickoff to not just demonstrate good content, but also a polished virtual experience to demonstrate their employees who were coming together due to two parallel acquisitions that the company remained committed to employee development, and fun.
The question was initially met with some skepticism. The company wanted to keep the spirit of their annual company kickoff alive, and audience engagement was their top priority. After almost a year of being “zoomed out” with virtual meetings, AHEAD was unsure on how to keep their employees interested and immersed in the annual kickoff. Their goals: To not overwhelm their employees with content, or pump them with information, rather create excitement for 2021. At the end of the conference, they wanted to know, “Are our employees happy to be a part of AHEAD?” Do our employees know what our goals are for the year?”