Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the technology industry continues to lean heavily on virtual conferences rather than face-to-face events. Indeed, Big Top gatherings like Microsoft Ignite 2021, ServiceNow Knowledge 2021 and VMware VMworld 2021 (just to name a few) will remain “online only” this year.
But in some cases, “screen fatigue” has set in. Event organizers and attendees alike are itching to get back on the road — assuming COVID-19 vaccinations truly kick-in and the pandemic quiets down.
Amid that hopeful mindset, some business and technology event organizers are preparing for face-to-face engagements in 2021. Assuming no pandemic-related setbacks, below is a sampling of face-to-face conferences currently listed on ChannelE2E’s Global Event Calendar (submit your annual event to our calendar here.)
Face to Face Technology Conferences in 2021: A Sampling
1. April 15-16, New York: DigiMarCon East 2021, a digital marketing, media and advertising conference & exhibition.
2. April 26-27, Miami: eMerge Americas 2021, The conference serves global enterprises, disruptive technology businesses and startups. Previous events have attracted 16,000 attendees from more than 40 countries.
3. May 4-6, Portland, Oregon: ACA 2021, the angel investing conference from the Angel Capital Association.
4. May 11-14, Orlando, Florida: Robin Robins’ Big Seminar is sales and marketing event designed for MSPs, IT solutions providers and channel partners that are seeking to drive revenue.
5. May 31-June 2, Dubai, United Arab Emirates: GISEC 2021, the Gulf Information Security Expo & Conference, is a key cyber conference in the middle east.
6. June 28 – July 1, Barcelona, Spain: GSMA MWS 2021, also known as Mobile World Conference 2021 (MWC21), strives to return after being one of the first big pandemic-related cancelations in 2020. This typically is one of the world’s largest conferences and events for mobile, wireless, telecom and 5G service providers.
7. August 9-13, Las Vegas: HIMSS 2021, the global health information technology conference, is known worldwide by professionals in the vertical.
8. August 16-19, Orlando, Florida: Data Center World Conference 2021 is affiliated with the global AFCOM membership association.
9. September 23-25, Scottsdale, Arizona: The Big Big Conference 2021, from Taylor Business Group, is designed for MSP business owners.
10. September 27-30, Las Vegas:IWCE Conference and Expo 2021 is designed for communications service providers.
11. October 18-21, Las Vegas: NetSuite SuiteWorld is for customers and partners focused on the cloud ERP platform.
12. November 2-4, Santa Clara, California: IoT World 2021, which will focus on
- Developments in the IoT ecosystem to progress end-to-end IoT solutions
- Intersecting IoT with 5G, Edge and AI to progress digital transformation
- The applications of IIoT for industrial enterprise to adapt and win in the new normal
- Securing the IoT, now
13. November 9-10, San Jose, California: OCP Global Summit 2021, which focuses on the Open Compute Project (OCP) and open source-minded hardware for data centers.
14. December 7-10, Melbourne, Australia: Cisco Live 2021 resurfaces in Australia after the networking giant essentially halted face-to-face events for roughly a year.
15. December 12-16, Orlando, Florida: Avaya Engage 2021 is designed for unified communications as a service (UCaaS) partners and customers.
Note: Readers should check in directly with event organizers to check the most current status of each event.
All Virtual and Face-to-Face Technology Events: One Calendar
Check the ChannelE2E Events calendar regularly for worldwide updates spanning virtual and physical conferences. And submit your own annual event here to potentially be listed on the calendar.
Admittedly, hundreds of face-to-face technology events remain in a holding pattern for 2021. ChannelE2E has spoken with numerous companies that are carefully watching the coronavirus pandemic, health advisories, and COVID-19 vaccination rollout. Readers should keep a close eye on late Q3 and all of Q4 2021. Quite a few technology companies may confirm face-to-face events for around that time, based on how the pandemic plays out.
As for me, I will likely wait until January 2022 to reconsider resuming my business travel based on health and vaccination data at that time.
