Corona impact: Microsoft makes all its events till July 2021 digital-only, won’t have in-person conferences for foreseeable future
The move comes in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak which has brought the world to a standstill.
By Rohan Abraham, ET Bureau |
AFP
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has prompted Microsoft to announce that all events organized by the company till July 2021 will be digital-only. The software giant had earlier said that Build 2020 – the annual event for its community of developers – due to be held in May 2020, will be a digital event. This policy has been extended to other in-house events for the foreseeable future.
“In light of the challenges presented by Covid-19, Microsoft has been closely monitoring the developing global situation and re-assessing the overall company-wide in-person event strategy,” cites a recent email to Microsoft MVPs, accessed by Verge. “As a company, Microsoft has made the decision to transition all external and internal events to a digital-first experience through July 2021,” it says.
This change in strategy is in keeping with public health guidelines that require citizens to practice social distancing in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Microsoft Ignite will therefore be a digital event in September 2020.
Microsoft is yet to confirm its presence at Computex 2020, a conference that was to have been held in September as an in-person event. This policy is also likely to impact Microsoft’s plan for CES 2021 and Build 2021, typically held in April or May each year.
The company has also called off its in-person Inspire event, scheduled for July 2020. Build conferences usually have around 5,000 attendees, with Inspire and Ignite boasting around 40,000 and 25,000 footfalls. In-person hardware events are also off the table, meaning that the next generation of the Surface tablet may be released in an online event.
Microsoft employees are mostly working from home, and the task of organizing large-scale events online, is likely to give the company a platform to showcase the robustness of its remote-work apps like Teams, and Skype.
“In light of the challenges presented by Covid-19, Microsoft has been closely monitoring the developing global situation and re-assessing the overall company-wide in-person event strategy,” cites a recent email to Microsoft MVPs, accessed by Verge. “As a company, Microsoft has made the decision to transition all external and internal events to a digital-first experience through July 2021,” it says.
This change in strategy is in keeping with public health guidelines that require citizens to practice social distancing in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Microsoft Ignite will therefore be a digital event in September 2020.
Microsoft is yet to confirm its presence at Computex 2020, a conference that was to have been held in September as an in-person event. This policy is also likely to impact Microsoft’s plan for CES 2021 and Build 2021, typically held in April or May each year.
The company has also called off its in-person Inspire event, scheduled for July 2020. Build conferences usually have around 5,000 attendees, with Inspire and Ignite boasting around 40,000 and 25,000 footfalls. In-person hardware events are also off the table, meaning that the next generation of the Surface tablet may be released in an online event.
Microsoft employees are mostly working from home, and the task of organizing large-scale events online, is likely to give the company a platform to showcase the robustness of its remote-work apps like Teams, and Skype.
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