Cvent, a major event management software company, last raised funding around the time the previous century ended.

Today, the company will announce that it has raised funding for the second time in its – most fascinating – history, and it’s a whopper:

Cvent has secured $136 million in venture capital financing from New Enterprise Associates and Insight Venture Partners, with Greenspring Associates also participating.

According to data from Dow Jones VentureSource, this marks one of the largest investments in a private software company this year.

It’s pretty amazing that we have seemingly never written about Cvent before. Happy to make an exception this time around. 

In all seriousness, Cvent’s journey as a company is a very interesting one (more on that later today in a guest post by Cvent founder and CEO Reggie Aggarwal). Originally founded back in 1999, and backed by $17 million in capital that was burned almost as quickly as it was raised, Cvent turned around and today bills itself as the world’s largest meetings management technology company.

To give you an idea: the company currently has over 800 employees worldwide.

The company offers cloud-based software services for meeting site selection, online event registration and management, e-mail marketing, and web surveys, currently helping more than 90,000 users in 40 countries manage hundreds of thousands of events, surveys and e-mail campaigns.

The most impressive service offered by Cvent, imho, is its Supplier Network, a free online marketplace that connects event planners with some 150,000 hotels, restaurants and other types venues worldwide. It is most easily described as the “Expedia for meeting and event planning”.

To illustrate its sheer scale: Cvent says its Supplier Network is poised to generate $4 billion in business for hotels alone in 2011 (up from $60 million three years ago).

No wonder Cvent has strong relationships with most of the leading hotel chains from across the globe, including Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Starwood, Intercontinental Hotels Group and Accor.

Companies like Wells Fargo, The Coca-Cola Company, MetLife, Deere & Company and Procter & Gamble use Cvent’s solution for event organization and management.

Aggarwal tells me the investment will enable Cvent to grow its headcount to 1,000 employees – mostly engineers – over the next 12 months, and to solidify its position for its next decade in business. The company will also invest in the development of its social media and mobile products.

Not that they really needed the money; Cvent has apparently been running at a profit for the past 32 straight quarters. It hasn’t always been that way, though, and we’ll soon publish Aggarwal’s riveting account of the past 12 years, and how he got to this point.

(Source: TechCrunch)

Unsurprisingly, at Cvent we receive many Request for Proposals (RFPs) for event registration services. Each is different as each potential client’s needs can vary greatly. For volunteer associations, drafting these RFPs can be a bit of a challenge. Unlike a corporate meeting planner, you might not be aware of what your needs are, what the marketplace is like, or where to even begin! 

However, we have some tips for starting the RFP process:

• Take your time. Developing an RFP shouldn’t happen overnight. First, draft a timeline, working backwards from when you would like to implement the new software. Be conservative with your timing.

• Make the RFP a priority. Often we hear that the RFP discussion keeps getting pushed to the next meeting, which tells your members, board, and potential vendors that it isn’t important to you. Devote a full board meeting or two to the discussion.

• Delegate responsibilities. Who will be writing the RFP? Will duties be divided among different people? Will you form a special committee? Who will be involved in the editing process? The selection process? Make these responsibilities clear so that not only do you stay on task, but you also hold individuals accountable for taking the next steps.

• Know what is important to you and your members. Make a list of four or five features that are necessities. Are your members clamoring for the ability to pay online? Do you need to integrate with Quickbooks? Is reporting a priority? Do you need the ability to customize your registration forms? Feel free to include broad or specific needs. Use this list as the basis for your RFP. If you don’t know what your members or board requires, send out a quick survey to get ideas.

• Learn about the marketplace. Before even considering which companies to include, do some research into the tools out there. Simply knowing what features are common can help you develop your RFP: since meeting planning is most likely not your day job, browsing websites can give you an idea of what to ask for. Cvent actually has a Buyer’s Guide for this specific purpose.

Do YOU have any other ideas for the RFP preparation process? Let us know, and next week, we’ll cover some ideas for what you should actually include in your RFP. Make sure to check back!

Baton Rouge is the newest city on the Cvent Destination Guide! http://htxt.it/ezkY

#OrangeCounty venue listings, transportation details, meeting stats and more, now on the Cvent Destination Guide! http://htxt.it/CUUI

#Eventprofs can read all about #Prague meeting stats on the Cvent Destination Guide! http://htxt.it/XcKq

Cvent will be at @NBTA’s convention Aug. 23-26 in San Diego — visit us at booth 3343! #NBTA09 http://tr.im/vl1F

Check out Seoul meeting stats on the Cvent Destination Guide http://tr.im/ueNx

Cvent will be at @DMAI09 July 28-30 in Atlanta! #DMAIAC09 http://tr.im/rrOd

Learn about Little Rock’s meeting venues, restaurants and more on the Cvent Destination Guide! http://tr.im/rnKw