COLLABORATION 01732 759725 27 magazine New ‘experiential platform’ takes virtual meetings and events to next level Introducing Jugo are more narrowly defined, it’s not so much of a problem, but for organisations that are scaling up it’s very important to get this right. In what areas do you think the IT industry could do better? I think the IT industry has an image problem. Those outside it don’t see how exciting it is or how fast-moving developments are. They don’t realise the potential that IT has to effect positive change or the broad range of opportunities the sector offers. Unfortunately, there is still a gender imbalance in IT and a lack of diversity in the workforce. These issues are serious and in a world where talent is scarce the sector needs to do more to promote itself as a great place to work. What do you hope to achieve in your new role? I aim to empower my colleagues and to show them that there are no limitations to what they can achieve. Most people want success, but they can be held back by fear of failure, perfectionism or minor setbacks. Others are unwilling to commit 100% and wonder why they don’t reach their goals. It’s not an easy lesson to learn but there are no elevators to success. You simply have to take the stairs and keep walking. When someone dedicates themselves to the process and keeps moving forward, even if progress is slow, they can achieve remarkable results and enjoy the journey. What advice would you give a young person considering a career in IT? I’d ask them whether they were looking for stability and predictability. If they say yes, I would suggest they try another sector. But if they enjoy learning, like the challenge of never quite knowing what’s on the horizon and are adaptable, I’d tell them IT could be a perfect fit. Jugo, a browser-based platform for immersive virtual experiences, has announced a partnership with Arsenal Football Club that will enable the Gunners to provide fans with more engaging experiences including virtual Q&A sessions with players, interactive screenings and memorabilia auctions. This is quite a scalp for the Bristol-based company, which was formed last year with the backing of GDS Group and is currently building a customer base and network of partnerships and alliances. The relationship could give a big boost and valuable exposure to Jugo, which also has offices in New York and development teams in Leeds and Kosovo. Jugo’s ‘experiential platform’ takes virtual business meetings, town hall company events, recruitment/onboarding/training sessions and other types of engagement to the next level by placing participants in a virtual world, without the need for VR or AR headsets or any special equipment. Jugo uses Nvidia's Visual AI tech to generate virtual green screens for anyone, anywhere. Using Unreal Engine 5 3D creation technology, which will be familiar to fans of Fortnite and Star Wars, Jugo provides a variety of pre-designed meeting environments that are claimed to inspire much greater feelings of connectedness and togetherness than the virtual meeting platforms we have become used to since 2020, while also offering advanced functionality such as screensharing, meeting recording, in-platform chat, polling and emoji sentiment voting. “We are getting good feedback that Jugo really does bring meetings and events in a virtual setting alive,” says Jugo Head of Alliances and Partnerships Natalie Holder. Holder adds that Jugo means ‘bridging the gap’ in Latin, which seems appropriate for a technology that seeks to bring people together in a shared virtual environment even though they may be separated by thousands of miles. “What we are already seeing with prospects is that when they see our platform they say ‘This is amazing. This is unique. This is something we've not experienced before. We can use it for this, this and this’. They are introducing use cases. It really is whatever you want it to be, which is why we call it an ‘experiential platform’.” www.jugo.io
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