Ungerboeck, a global leader in event management software, has acquired the products of risk management agency Reliance Risk and will be debuting an industry-first application for mitigating risk to events and venues.  

As the industry continues to be impacted by major issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, accidents and severe weather incidents, risk management is an increasingly essential factor that venues and event professionals must take into consideration. Ungerboeck is committed to helping its customers better manage risks of all kinds.   

The acquisition of both Reliance Risk products, RiskSense101 and VRM360, gives Ungerboeck the power to offer a valuable new solution: Risk Manager by Ungerboeck. The new application is specifically designed to give venues and event organizers a better understanding of threats and help them be proactive instead of reactive in the face of potential issues. 

“The unique nature of events dictates the need for a customized, simple but powerful technology solution to help mitigate and monitor risk,” said Wayne Middleton, founder director of Reliance Risk and co-developer of Ungerboeck’s new application. “We have built this into Risk Manager by Ungerboeck and are grateful for the shared vision, passion and global reach that Ungerboeck brings to help our industry manage risk.”  

Risk Manager by Ungerboeck fills a longstanding void in the market, according to Steve Mackenzie, executive vice president of Ungerboeck.

“Over the past few years, several events have become major headlines for all the wrong reasons,” he said. “Think of the Manchester Arena bombing, the shooting in Las Vegas or the Astroworld crowd incident. By offering this tool, we are ensuring venue and event operators are equipped to identify potential risks and produce the necessary tasks and reports to back up the process.” 

Before joining the Ungerboeck family, Middleton’s risk management software was already used in venues across the Asia Pacific Region. Thousands of additional organizations will benefit now, thanks to Ungerboeck’s global reach.

Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, along with the larger ASM Global-operated venues throughout Australia, have held a license to Risk Sense Technologies software for more than seven years.

“It has been an important tool in helping us understand the risks that our venues encounter and ensure that we have taken appropriate measures to mitigate them,” said Steve Hevern, general manager of Qudos Bank Arena. “We congratulate Wayne and Ungerboeck on this global partnership and look forward to more innovative technology that will help us continue to host safe and successful events.” 

Middleton will continue in his role as managing director of Reliance Risk and as a risk management consultant, setting the benchmark for best practices across the industry.  

“We'll build on the unique system that Wayne, a world-renowned risk management expert, has developed over the past decade,” Mackenzie said. “This is incredibly exciting for the market to finally have access to a dedicated risk management software.” 

Ungerboeck provides industry-leading event and venue management software to more 50,000 users in more than 50 countries. Its comprehensive platform offers event professionals powerful technology that provides a 360-view of their business, allowing them to cut costs, save time and increase revenue.     

Reliance Risk offers services across the risk management spectrum and safety support spectrum, with expertise in health and safety, business risk, business continuity and resilience, security and emergency management.

Photo: Steve Mackenzie, executive vice president of Ungerboeck (left) and Wayne Middleton, founding director of Reliance Risk (right)