PlotBox Hosts Inaugural Global Tech Summit

October 20th 2023: Leading deathcare management solutions provider PlotBox recently welcomed visitors from across the world to its inaugural Global Tech Summit.

Held in the picturesque surrounds of its headquarters at the ecosHUB in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, this special 3-day event was attended by international delegates representing deathcare providers from across the United States, the Asia Pacific Region, and the UK and Ireland.

Following a message from Joe Kennedy, President Biden's special envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs, PlotBox CEO Sean McAllister laid out the aims of the event,

“This week is about partnership, it's about sharing our knowledge, our expertise and our time, to listen and to learn how we can utilize technology to support those our customers serve in the best way possible.”

PlotBox CEO Sean McAllister addresses delegates

Throughout the summit, attendees engaged in discussions, workshops, and interactive sessions, alongside global industry experts and academics who provided insights on some of the most prevalent technology talking points within today’s deathcare industry.

Day one saw presentations on the importance of data strategy and cyber security, along with a facilitated discussion on the future of disposal techniques; finishing on a PlotBox product solution ‘inspiration session’, and an update on PlotBox’s genealogy grave search platform, Everafter.

On day two, delegates took part in an innovation-led, digital solution themed design sprint session. This was followed by a tour of Belfast City Cemetery, and the opportunity to see Everafter in practice within the cemetery’s newly opened visitors centre; concluding with a Belfast Food Tour, providing the chance for the group to relax and unwind.

On the final day, Steve Gant, Consultant Advisor and Managing Director of the London Cremation Company Plc provided a fascinating overview on the, ‘Past, Present and Future of the UK Cremation Model’. This was followed by the presentation of a number of case studies by PlotBox APAC General Manager, Martin Jackson, highlighting innovations in sustainable burial practices being carried out by PlotBox customers in Australia and New Zealand.

To round out the event, delegates were treated to a tour of County Antrim’s beautiful North Coast, which included a visit to Northern Ireland’s iconic World Heritage Site, the Giant’s Causeway, as well as a tour of the Bushmills distillery, the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world.

L/R: PlotBox CEO Sean McAllister, PlotBox CCO Leona McAllister, Director, The Centre for Death and Society, Dr. John Troyer

Will Andrews, President of Anthem Partners, owners of 75 Funeral homes and cemeteries across the United States and Canada said,

“Our biggest success since working with PlotBox has been beginning to standardize our processes and looking at how we can do things the same way across our portfolio. PlotBox really helps facilitate that by having a unified software structure that allows us to not have all these one off ways of collecting data and information.

The Summit has been great - just meeting people from all over the world and understanding what their challenges are. We get stuck in our own ways over in our part of the world and when you are with a group like this you start to think broader and outside of the box to find a lot of great ideas. It’s networking but it’s also learning to help your business move forward.”

In his closing comments, Sean thanked attendees for bringing so much of their own experience and insight into making the event such a success, reiterating the importance of partnership in creating a deathtech roadmap to help to support and secure the future of deathcare services.

Sean said,

“We hope that this week will be the first of many of its kind, and the first small steps to building a truly global deathcare community that embraces the values of partnership and innovation.”

Learn more about PlotBox.

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