Each week we interview one of our members to find out a bit more about them and their work in the Greater Manchester digital sphere. This week we're speaking with Visair – a local company that specialises in offering professional live streaming services.
What does your organisation do?
Visair are live streaming specialists who produce professional live video and webcasts for events, presentations and marketing. Our mission is to help businesses recognise and unlock the potential of live streaming by providing honest, practical information with affordable, innovative solutions.
Whether it’s live event streaming to reach wider audiences, internal communications to engage employees across the world, effective delivery of presentations and training or exciting, relevant brand content, we believe live video should be part of every businesses’ strategy.
What do you think is currently the biggest issue facing the digital and tech industry?
A topic I’ve noticed filtering more and more into conversation is the question of social responsibility. Whether it’s around the ability for tech to contribute to some of the global issues we face such as the climate crisis, or the powerful influence that digital communications have had on politics, the world is starting to catch up to online cultural shifts.
Now more than ever, it’s becoming so important to step back from day to day innovation and ask ourselves the bigger questions about what digital and technology solutions will bring to our daily lives, not just tomorrow, but for the future fabric of the human race. Unlike perhaps any other industry in the 21st century, we have potential to harness what we do for the better. I think the companies – on whatever scale, from social media marketers to innovative software developers – who are already thinking about this will be the ones to reap the rewards.
What is your organisation’s biggest achievement?
As a start-up, it’s important to stop at every milestone and celebrate what you’ve achieved because this is what motivates you and keeps you driving forward. Reaching our 1st year anniversary and smashing all the goals we set ourselves is definitely our biggest achievement so far – but this pales to what we hope to be celebrating next year!
A definite highlight of the year was working with the charity MACC to stream the Spirit of Manchester Awards. It was great to be able to show off the incredible hard work and generosity of Manchester’s Volunteers and a proud moment for us that they were able to spread their message even wider.
What would you consider to be your organisation’s biggest challenge?
Our biggest challenge is getting companies to recognise the potential of live streaming and how it can benefit them. It’s daunting for a lot of people to spend their precious budget on trying new things. When you couple that with the rapid development of technology and internet in the last 5-10 years, it’s not very surprising that the average company either hasn’t even considered streaming yet, or they’re apprehensive because it feels like a dark art.
Our ethos from the beginning is to educate people about the process, technology and objective of live content and take them on that journey with us, because we genuinely believe it’s the future.
What do you think the future looks like for Manchester’s digital and tech sector?
Promising! Manchester has changed so much over the last 15 years, it’s almost unrecognisable. It’s a fantastic, thriving city with so much to offer the digital and tech sector. Not only is it home to some fantastic businesses already, there’s a real community that’s grown up around start-ups and innovation which is alive across the city.
We’ve been blown away by the level of support and collaboration on offer through so many different organisations and initiatives. Becoming part of the wider community has been hugely influential to our success so far. The more businesses that tap into this, the more the sector will grow. You only have to meet some of the ambitious and diverse range of businesses popping up in the sector to feel that buzz of excitement around what the future holds for Manchester’s digital and tech industry.
Tell us something we might not know about your company?
Myself and business partner Ashley were both made redundant on the same day – from different companies – in 2018, and that’s how Visair was born! Ashley has over 10 years’ experience in production and live video and my background is in marketing and business, so it was easy to take that leap of faith. Having complimentary skills with different focuses in a start-up has been a strong foundation for us so far. We’re looking forward to seeing what 2020 has in store for us.
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