Announcing Backstage OnAir, our in-house virtual events solution

Announcing Backstage OnAir, our in-house virtual events solution

These past months have seen a huge rise in the number of virtual events with some of the biggest events of the year going online. Though there's little possibility for virtual events to completely replace in-person ones, COVID-19 has shown how flexible and feasible they can be. Considering all of this, it's likely organizations will continue hosting online events in the future if only for the sheer convenience of it.
 
At Backstage, we started work on our own virtual events solution back in March. Since then, we've steadily added on to our existing features so you can leverage virtual events as soon as possible. However, our ultimate goal has always been to build a virtual events solution that is just as intuitive and seamless as Backstage is for live events. Today, after a little more than four months, we're ready to introduce Backstage OnAir, our virtual events extension.



From webcasting sessions and engaging with attendees in real-time to getting detailed post-session analytics, Backstage OnAir's features will help you host virtual events that are just as good as in-person ones. The best part—you can host both your online and live events from a single platform. Convenient, right?
 
Here's a quick rundown of how the many features of Backstage OnAir—combined with tools Backstage already possesses—can benefit you before, during, and even after your online event.
 

Before the event 

Creating an online event on Backstage is pretty similar to creating a live event. Begin with the usual stuff—create your online event just as you would an in-person one or convert one of your existing events from in-person to virtual.
 
Then add event details like the agenda and speakers, onboard your team, and set up event registration. The next step is designing your event microsite. Here, you can use Backstage's 10 themes and various custom pages and sections to build an event microsite that's spot-on with your brand.
 

 
Other things you can do at this stage include promoting your event with promotional codes, affiliates, and social sharing, as well as sending emails to attendees and prospects to keep them updated with the latest event news.
 

During the event 

The difference between virtual and in-person events is mostly seen on the event day—from attendee check-in to session presentation, everything has to be done through online means, and this can lead to a lot of challenges. At Backstage, we've made all the options flexible so you have more choice and control over how things proceed.

Attendee check-in


 
Checking in to an online event is the attendee's responsibility in Backstage. On the event day, a banner will run on the event microsite to inform attendees about the status of the event—whether it has begun or not and if sessions are running. It will also prompt them to check in to the event. Once they've checked in, they can participate in the sessions, network with other attendees, and contribute to discussions. 

Session presentation


The next step is presenting your sessions remotely. We've got three options for broadcasting your sessions, and you can use any of them—Backstage OnAir, Zoho Meeting, and other third-party web-conferencing software.


 
The actual session experience depends largely on the tool you're using and the features it has to offer. We, of course, recommend Backstage OnAir for this. It comes with options like webcasting live sessions, detailed session analytics, and virtual engagement tools (polls, chat, whiteboard, and questions) to interact with attendees in real-time and make them feel like they're a part of the event. Currently, you can webcast your session to a maximum of 200 attendees though in the future, we will be increasing this number to accommodate more attendees. In addition, after each session ends, attendees can join the next session automatically. 
 

Networking


Most event organizers find networking to be a real challenge with virtual events. At Backstage, we've got a pretty handy feature to help you with this—discussion channels. You can create both public and private channels to help attendees network with others who share the same interests or even continue their discussions with speakers after the session is over.


 
You can also announce impromptu discussions or meets so everyone knows what's happening and they don't miss out on the opportunity to interact with others.
 

After the event

 

 
Once your event is over, you can post behind-the-scenes photos in the event gallery and give your attendees a peek into what really went on backstage. You can also ask your attendees to post photos. The gallery is a good place to bond with them over photos and memories. This is especially important with virtual events as a lot of things here happen over text and voice. Pictures can help make the experience more authentic, real, and personal.


 
The other important thing to do after the event is study the analytics so you know what went right and what went wrong. Backstage already offers two equally important types of analytics—sales analytics and session analytics—and the great thing about the OnAir extension is that your virtual event can still leverage all the Backstage features you normally use for in-person events. While the former tells you how interested people were in your event, the latter tells you how satisfying the experience was. You can also make use of our PageSense integration to step this up a little and get detailed website analytics.
 
Also, members subscribed to our Enterprise and Ultimate plans can use Backstage OnAir free of charge to present remote sessions and host virtual events until September 30, 2020.
 
Power your virtual events with Backstage OnAir and give your attendees an experience they won't forget any time soon! Let us know what you think in the comments below. For product-related questions or suggestions, write to us at support@zohobackstage.com.

Happy organizing!


    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community




                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts



                                                            • Sticky Posts

                                                            • Important notice: Changes in sender domains

                                                              Hello Backstage users, This is a heads-up about a major change with sender domains in Zoho Backstage. In response to Google's new guidelines for email senders, Backstage won't be able to send emails with the sender domain "gmail.com" or "googlemail.com".
                                                            • Announcing Backstage OnAir, our in-house virtual events solution

                                                              These past months have seen a huge rise in the number of virtual events with some of the biggest events of the year going online. Though there's little possibility for virtual events to completely replace in-person ones, COVID-19 has shown how flexible
                                                            • Introducing the mobile app for event organizers

                                                              It doesn't matter if you're planning your first trade show or an annual executive retreat—organizing an event requires your undivided attention. This is especially true on event day, when things can quickly get out of hand. So how can you stay on top of everything happening at your event? Introducing the Zoho Backstage for Event Organizers mobile app, for Android and iOS—designed to improve and simplify your event management. Getting things started on time, checking in attendees on event day, following
                                                            • Announcing Zoho Backstage: Your complete event management software

                                                              With just a few months till the event, you're still racking your brain. Did you advertise to the right audience? Is your event website design appealing? How will you keep attendees engaged and interested during sessions? It doesn't matter if you're organizing


                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner









                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                              Zoho Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                              • Recent Topics

                                                                                                              • Full Hebrew Language Support for Client-Side Zoho Assist Interface

                                                                                                                Dear Zoho Assist Team, We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Assist's client-side interface to support full Hebrew language customization, including all popups, notifications, and session-related messages. Current Limitation The Join page allows
                                                                                                              • Add Hebrew & RTL Support to Feedback Widget

                                                                                                                Hello Zoho Desk Team, How are you? We are using Zoho Desk and would like to utilize the Feedback Widget. While Zoho Desk itself supports Hebrew and RTL, the Feedback Widget unfortunately does not. We kindly request that Hebrew and full RTL support be
                                                                                                              • Merge Tickets Directly from Contact Page in Zoho Desk

                                                                                                                Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, We are writing to request a new feature that would allow users to easily merge tickets directly from the contact page in Zoho Desk. Currently, the only option to merge tickets is from the Tickets list view page, which can
                                                                                                              • Different languages for users

                                                                                                                Hello, Do you plan to enable individual users to select their languages for interface? Currently language can be changed for everyone - it looks like a settings for a whole portal, which is not good when you are working internationally. Best regards,
                                                                                                              • Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

                                                                                                                Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how
                                                                                                              • 2025年 Zoho コミュニティ 活動の振り返り 🎉

                                                                                                                ユーザーの皆さん、こんにちは!コミュニティチームの中野です。 2025年も多くの学びと出会いがあったZoho コミュニティ。 本記事では今年の活動を振り返りながら、フォーラムの投稿・参加者の皆さん・イベントのハイライトをご紹介していきます。 目次 フォーラム:注目の投稿 フォーラム:多くの貢献をしてくださった方々 ユーザー交流会振り返り ワークアウト振り返り その他のトピックス 1. フォーラム:注目の投稿 本フォーラムでは様々な議論と知識の共有が行われました。 ユーザーの皆さんが日々の業務で直面する課題を投稿し、経験豊富なユーザーさん達が実践的な解決策を提供してくださいました。
                                                                                                              • Customer Management: #3 Giving Customers Control & Privilege

                                                                                                                Rio, the founder of RenoTech Solutions, a fast-growing digital service company, found itself juggling a dozen different services for its clients. They handled one-time setup fees, recurring monthly invoices, and custom milestone-based billing for projects.
                                                                                                              • Can I use a Standalone CRM Function as the Callback URL For Async Export Data API?

                                                                                                                I am creating an export job using this API https://www.zoho.com/analytics/api/v2/bulk-api/export-data-async/create-export/view-id.html There is a "callbackUrl" key in the CONFIG object. I tried copying the URL for a standalone function in CRM which can
                                                                                                              • Add RTL (Right-to-Left) Text Direction Support Across All Zoho Learn Editing Interfaces

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho Learn Team, Hope you're doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement to Zoho Learn regarding support for right-to-left (RTL) languages such as Hebrew and Arabic. 🔹 Current Issue While the Knowledge Base Article editor provides
                                                                                                              • Add Hebrew Support for Meeting Transcripts Provided by ZIA in Zoho Cliq

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho Cliq Team, Hope you're doing well. We would like to request the addition of Hebrew language support for the Meeting Transcript and Summary feature in Zoho Cliq. Currently the transcript and summary feature is available for recorded meetings and
                                                                                                              • Remote Control Functionality During Screen Sharing in Zoho Cliq

                                                                                                                Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We would like to request the addition of remote control functionality during screen sharing sessions in Zoho Cliq. Currently, while screen sharing in Cliq is very useful, it lacks the ability for another participant to take control
                                                                                                              • Centralized Organization Information Management in Zoho One

                                                                                                                Dear Zoho One Support, I'm writing to propose a feature that would significantly improve the user experience and streamline data management within Zoho One. Current Challenge: Currently, managing organization information across various Zoho One apps requires
                                                                                                              • Enhance Zoho One Conditional Assignment to Fully Reassign App Settings When Changing Departments

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho Team, We’d like to submit a feature request regarding the current behavior of Zoho One’s conditional assignment logic when moving a user between departments. 🔧 Current Limitation As it stands, Zoho One’s conditional assignment does not remove
                                                                                                              • Ability to Filter Alias Mailboxes in Zoho Recruit

                                                                                                                Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you are doing well. We would like to request a feature enhancement regarding the handling of alias mailboxes in Zoho Recruit. Currently, when we connect an alias mailbox (e.g., jobs@domain.com) from our Zoho One account
                                                                                                              • Automatic Department and Employee Sync Between Zoho One and Zoho People

                                                                                                                Dear Zoho Support, I'm writing to propose a valuable feature request that would streamline data management and improve user experience within the Zoho ecosystem: automatic synchronization between departments and employees in Zoho One and Zoho People.
                                                                                                              • Prefered Bin Missing in android APP

                                                                                                                Andoroid app dosent show preferred bin in the picklist. The workaround support reccomend is to use the computre to create the picklist. it shuld be information to be shown aas basic for the pciker.
                                                                                                              • Open Sans Font in Zoho Books is not Open Sans.

                                                                                                                Font choice in customising PDF Templates is very limited, we cannot upload custom fonts, and to make things worse, the font names are not accurate. I selected Open Sans, and thought the system was bugging, but no, Open Sans is not Open Sans. The real
                                                                                                              • Function #1: Convert an accepted Estimate to Sales Order automatically in Zoho Books

                                                                                                                As you’re aware, Zoho Books provides a default option to have the estimates automatically converted to invoices once your customer accepts them. Many of you wanted a similar option for sales orders, so here’s a workflow that converts accepted estimates
                                                                                                              • Reusable Jira Connection for Multiple Zoho Projects Imports

                                                                                                                Hello Zoho Projects Team, We would like to raise a concern and submit a feature request regarding the Jira → Zoho Projects migration process, specifically around how Jira connections are handled. Current Behavior: When setting up a Jira connection for
                                                                                                              • Zoho invoice doesn't support Arabic language

                                                                                                                I added a clause in the terms & conditions section in Arabic but it doesn't appear when I sent or print it.
                                                                                                              • Recurring Invoice Placeholder Not Updating Billing Period

                                                                                                                Hi, I’m using Zoho Invoice Free and want the billing period to update automatically in recurring invoices. In Item Description I tried: Billing Period: %(m-6)% %(y)% to %(m-1)% %(y)% but even if the invoice date is in 2026, it still shows the period based
                                                                                                              • Related list Mobile Device

                                                                                                                Hello, We use an the Zoho creator application to make reports linked to Accounts. On the computer: it's easy to go the Account and see all the created reports in the related list below On iPad/Phone ZOHO CRM APP: we cannot see the reports on those accounts
                                                                                                              • Can't update the company address in zoho invoice

                                                                                                                Dear Sir/Madam, I want to update the company address in Zoho Invoice but failed. It popped out a sentence "Invalid value passed for Website". Please advice how to solve this problem. Thank you.
                                                                                                              • Is there a plan to allow for the hierarchical organization of Customers / Companies in Zoho Billing?

                                                                                                                We have a few customers who have organizational structures that we haven't quite found a way to deal with in Zoho Billing. In CRM, these sub-companies (or subsidiaries or whatever you want to call them) all have another CRM account as the parent account.
                                                                                                              • 【Zoho CRM】作業リスト機能リリースのお知らせ

                                                                                                                ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、作業リスト機能リリースのお知らせ情報をご紹介します。 目次 作業リスト機能 概要 機能① 自分の未完了の活動 機能② 処理待ち 機能③ 自分の作業リスト 作業リスト機能 概要 営業チームでは、CRM内に業務やデータが分散しているため、管理が煩雑になりがちです。この断片化は、機会の見逃しや生産性の低下につながります。 作業リスト機能は、タブを横断する業務項目をひとつのカスタマイズ可能なダッシュボードに集約し、業務を効率的に管理できるようにします。
                                                                                                              • SalesIQとPageSenseの利用について

                                                                                                                初めての投稿で場違いだったらすいません。 弊社ではSalesIQを運用しているのですが、追加でPageSenseの導入もしたいと現場からの声があります。 両サービスともクッキー同意バナーが必要なサービスなのですが 弊社では同意無しに情報はとりませんという方針なので 2つ入れると2つバナーを出す必要がでてきます・・・ 両サービスを運用されてる方があれば運用状況とか教えてほしいです。 PageSenseについては詳細まで機能を理解してないなかでの質問です。
                                                                                                              • Parent-Child Tickets using API or Deluge

                                                                                                                Hi Everyone, We are looking at the parent-child ticketing features in Zoho Desk. We want to be able to create a parent ticket at customer level and nest child tickets underneath. The issue we are facing is to be able to automate this. I'm checking the
                                                                                                              • Closing connected ticket after closing WA conversation

                                                                                                                Hi, At the moment, once someone sends a message to our WA number, a corresponding ticket is automatically created. After the question is answered, our support department closes the chat/conversation. However, after that, the connected ticket is still
                                                                                                              • Note sync turn off

                                                                                                                Hi, Is it possible to turn off notes sync between task notes and the parent module? (Account/Deal)
                                                                                                              • Basic Plan Active but Survey Creation Still Limited to 3 Surveys

                                                                                                                I have an active Basic (Monthly) subscription (valid period: Dec 24, 2025 – Jan 24, 2026), but the system still limits survey creation to only 3 surveys, which matches Free plan behavior. The subscription appears active in Portal Information, however
                                                                                                              • 2025 in Review: Powering Field Services Forward—One Feature at a Time

                                                                                                                As 2025 draws to a close, it’s time to pause and reflect on a year of meaningful progress at Zoho FSM. This year was all about listening closely to our customers and partners, building with purpose, and continuously improving the way field service teams
                                                                                                              • API Support for Creating Invoices with Batch-Tracked Items

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho Community, I am working on an integration where we create invoices in ERPNext and push them to Zoho Books. I need to send batch-tracked items (batch numbers) when creating invoices. I could not find any reference in the Zoho Books API documentation.
                                                                                                              • New to automation - please help

                                                                                                                Hi there! We are new to automations in Zoho. We built out one automation campaign and it seems to be firing off for some people but others not. Please advise what's the best practice or if anything we should tweak. Thank you so much!
                                                                                                              • Unable to Create Zoho Booking via the Book Appointment API

                                                                                                                Its giving the below error {     "response": {         "errormessage": "Error setting value for the variable:customer_details\n null",         "status": "Error"     } } Request: POST Url: https://www.zohoapis.in/bookings/v1/json/appointment attached Zoho-oauthtoken
                                                                                                              • Task Details on task template

                                                                                                                When creating a task template in settings that task details seem to be missing. Is it not possible to set the details of a task, such as the priority, type, reminder settings, and custom field values?
                                                                                                              • Building Toppings #3 -Testing and publishing Bigin toppings

                                                                                                                Hey Biginners! In previous forum posts, we discussed what a Bigin topping is and explored the Bigin Developer Console's features. In this post, we're going to create a topping from scratch and discuss how to test and publish it. Our topping will automate
                                                                                                              • markdown files?

                                                                                                                How can I import a markdown file into a note?
                                                                                                              • Mail to Zoho Notebook

                                                                                                                In the Instuctiosn I faound as email add@notebook.app In my account I see add@eu.notebook.app What is correct please
                                                                                                              • Auto-Invite Users to Portals in Zoho CRM based on Conditions

                                                                                                                Hello Everyone, You can now automate portal invitations in Zoho CRM with the new Auto-Invite users feature in Portal management. No more manually enabling portal access one by one. With this enhancement, you can automatically send invites for users to
                                                                                                              • Growth You can Count On: Zoho Billing's 2025 Journey

                                                                                                                As we wrap up 2025, we’re reflecting on a year rooted in steady progress and meaningful growth for Zoho Billing. Every enhancement we have introduced was built to support scalable and reliable billing growth for your business. From launching the Enterprise
                                                                                                              • Next Page