Taking event ticketing into the mobile world

Ticketing for events such as football matches and exhibitions is set for a dramatic leap into the digital realm of smartphones, thanks to an innovation being developed with Seos technology by HID Global’s internal startup The Trusted Mobile Ticketing Venture. Take part of Luc Faucher and Philip Hoyer’s “Eureka!” moment.

“Everything is going mobile,” says Luc Faucher, The Trusted Mobile Ticketing Venture’ s Montreal-born, Paris-based Director, “so why not ticketing?”

Luc Faucher (left) and Philip Hoyer

The technology is still evolving, Luc says, but it does have distinct advantages: “This technology provides a secure way of buying tickets through the phone. And it comes with a bonus, an easy way to add extra benefits such as food, beverage and parking vouchers in a secure wallet. It may be a game breaker!”

You are always looking for new opportunities and areas of application

The Eureka moment

With approval, funding and a remarkable degree of freedom from HID Global and its parent, ASSA ABLOY, Luc co-founded the start-up with Philip Hoyer, the team’s Chief Technology Officer. Together, Luc and Philip had a “Eureka!” moment. They realized that HID’s Seos technology could go beyond its core purpose of providing secure access to buildings through smart cards encrypted on smartphones. “You are always looking for new opportunities and areas of application,” Luc says of the Seos technology.

Mobile ticketing was tested at the GITEX technology convention in Dubai in October 2017.

Armed with extensive research results, Luc and Philip pitched HID executives and then ASSA ABLOY’s CEO Johan Molin. They got the green light, setting up their core team in January 2017. During the first year of what is a three-year plan, they successfully ran four pilot projects, each targeting a different sector. “The industries are different so the problems are different,” Luc says. One pilot involved a European football league. Another provided smartphone ticket wallets to VIPs attending the 37th GITEX technology convention in Dubai.

We are going out to see people to understand what their problems are and how we can help them solve them

Knowing the customers

The pilots – which continue into 2018 – are not just a proof of process, Luc says. They have also given his 10-member team a chance to know their potential customers, the ticket sellers. “We did a lot of customer visits. We’re not developing this in a fishbowl. We are going out to see people to understand what their problems are and how we can help them solve them. That is key, knowing your customer,” he says.

Words: Bruce Kirkland

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