IDEX and NAVDEX 2025 - The Middle East’s largest defense and maritime exhibitions, organized by Capital Events (part of ADNEC Group) - brought together global military delegations, government leaders, and leading defense manufacturers. Held alongside the International Defence Conference (IDC), the co-located events attracted over 200,000 attendees, with a clear mission: to enable strategic connections across the defense and maritime sectors while delivering an experience that was intuitive and deeply personalized. Taking place at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, the events demanded a robust digital experience capable of supporting structured, secure, and flexible engagement.

The event organizer partnered with Jublia to deliver a fully customized engagement solution - purpose-built to support high-level, high-security interactions. Through a multi-layered approach that combined strategic matchmaking, tailored digital platforms, onsite concierge support, and AI-powered insights, Jublia facilitated over 4,000 verified meetings and conversations, transforming one of the world’s largest defense exhibitions into a hub of meaningful, high-value engagement.

Designing One Seamless Experience for Strategic Events

With IDEX and NAVDEX running simultaneously, alongside IDC (International Defence Conference), the event organizers from Capital Events and the  Jublia team faced a complex challenge: deliver a unified digital experience that could serve all the events - without diluting their distinct identities.

The solution was a multi-event ecosystem built within a cohesive Native App and Web App. Each event was represented by its own branded space - with unique color schemes, visual styles, and logos - allowing attendees to remain immersed in the identity of each show. This consolidated yet compartmentalized design enhanced usability while maintaining clarity, cohesion, and brand integrity at scale.

It led to a seamless, intuitive experience that helped participants navigate both events with ease.

Secure, Purposeful Connections

While IDC served as a standalone thought leadership conference, features such as matchmaking, Jublia Scan, and structured meeting support were specifically designed for IDEX and NAVDEX - where high-security, high-value networking was a key focus.

At the heart of Jublia’s delivery was a matchmaking program tailored to the unique demands of military-grade networking. In close collaboration with our partner Niche, we ensured that all pre-scheduled Delegate-to-Exhibitor meetings were executed with the utmost confidentiality and precision. During the event days, the concierge team worked efficiently to manage meetings, handling reschedules, last-minute changes, and even new engagements initiated during the event.

Jublia’s AI-powered Match360° engine facilitated high-quality introductions by connecting participants based on shared interests, objectives, and profile relevance. This approach resulted in highly rated, meaningful conversations that unfolded seamlessly throughout the week.

To further highlight the success of these connections, the platform facilitated a remarkable volume of meaningful meetings, with a high fulfillment rate and positive attendee feedback. The numbers speak for themselves, demonstrating the effectiveness of Jublia's tailored matchmaking approach.

Enhancing the Onsite Experience

Navigation and discovery were reimagined through a mix of digital innovation and human touch. The Interactive Map feature, in collaboration with Invisual, made the expansive venue feel easy to explore — from exhibition booths to networking lounges.

Customized schedules, searchable listings, and categorized tags empowered attendees to tailor their experience around their specific goals. Additionally, dedicated networking zones and concierge-guided matchmaking areas served as physical hubs for real-time engagement.

To further streamline onsite interactions, Jublia Scan enabled quick access to exhibitor and attendee profiles through badge scanning — reducing friction, speeding up lead capture, and giving attendees more time to engage meaningfully.

Throughout the platform, we saw over 10,000 scans, half a million session impressions, and more than 20 million content, product, and profile views — a testament to how deeply users engaged with the ecosystem.

Insights That Go Beyond Numbers

The impact of IDEX and NAVDEX extended well beyond attendance. Through Native App data and on-ground interactions, we delivered rich, actionable insights to organizers. With our platform processed signals from user behavior, session trends, and sentiment indicators — helping answer not only what happened, but why.

These findings highlight strong satisfaction across both the digital platform and onsite experience. With high CSAT scores for platform usage and event experience and execution, the attendee responses resonated with stakeholders. Attendees found the app intuitive and comprehensive, praising its clear floor plans, smart search capabilities, and interactive schedule, all of which made navigating the event and locating relevant exhibitors seamless. The map, content access, and scanning tools were repeatedly noted as helpful in enhancing convenience and efficiency throughout the experience.

Onsite, the event was lauded for its well-organized layout, strategic booth placements, and the overall quality of discussions and business opportunities. Many highlighted how accessible and informative the event was, offering a rich variety of exhibitors and live content. The atmosphere, flow, and facilities collectively contributed to a productive environment where high-quality interactions flourished.

These positive responses not only validated the digital tools and event execution, but also underscored the importance of delivering both structure and flexibility — empowering attendees to explore, connect, and engage with purpose.

Built on Trust, Backed by Standards

Security wasn’t a feature, it was a foundation. At every step, Jublia’s solutions were designed with compliance and confidentiality in mind. As an ISO 27001 certified platform, we applied strict data protection protocols, encrypted communications, and granular access controls to meet the rigorous expectations of defense stakeholders. Organizers and attendees could trust that every meeting, message, and match was handled with care.

Adapting Through Collaboration

The success of this event was driven by a highly coordinated effort. The collaboration between the organizers and Jublia, as well as Jublia’s partnerships with external providers - from matchmaking support with Niche to AI mapping with Invisual - was crucial in crafting a solution that was not only effective but also resilient. By blending flexible technology with deep domain expertise, we delivered an event experience that was as secure as it was complex, and as seamless as it was strategic.

Achieve the same impactful results by exploring how Jublia Engagement Hub can drive meaningful connections at your next event. Connect with our Solution Specialists to learn more and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest insights on transforming event experiences.