Leaving Las Vegas... for good? IT industry conference circuit won't look the same on other side of COVID-19 pandemic
- Reference: 1585559750
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/30/it_events_after_coronavirus/
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But is that world about to come to an end? Some think so. Earlier this week Laura Baldwin, president of IT education and conferences company O'Reilly, announced plans to [1]permanently end mass face-to-face events. Restrictions around COVID-19 had forced the conference online, and O'Reilly, for one, was not about to turn back.
"Without understanding when this global health emergency may come to an end, we can't plan for or execute on a business that will be forever changed as a result of this crisis," she said. "With large technology vendors moving their events completely on-line, we believe the stage is set for a new normal moving forward when it comes to in-person events. We also know we are poised to accept that challenge."
At the end of last week, [2]SAP threw in the towel on its Sapphire Now and ASUG Annual Conference: saying that the 2020 in-person event would "become digital experiences", while just days before, Google said its May I/O 2020 event, normally used for announcements relating to Android and other products, was [3]cancelled completely , with product announcements to be emitted via blog.
But maybe O'Reilly is different. It sells books, videos, conference talks, interactive coding environments, custom training, and online events. It is not in the multibillion-dollar software business, per se.
Those companies invest huge sums in conferences to press the flesh with customers, analysts and the media. Last year, [4]CES 2019 was set to have 4,500 exhibitors, 2.75 million square feet of space, and 180,000 attendees. Oracle OpenWorld San Francisco attracted some 60,000 visitors, and SAP Sapphire saw 30,000 people attend.
Coronavirus conference cancellations continue: Google and Microsoft axe WSL and Cloud Next [5]READ MORE
For these companies, IT conferences are not about helping users learn. They are about selling more product to a captive market. And that doesn't just mean enduring the keynote sound system booming the audience into an impersonation of enthusiasm at 8am as a CEO bounces onto the stage to declare a golden dawn in their computing dynasty. It's not about sleeping through the 4.15pm breakout session addressing the intricacies of data transformation in R. It's about knowing which vendor is doling out free beer and turning up at the exhibition stand before it runs dry. It's about the fun, the food and the meeting of minds.
"There's a serendipity factor at in-person events that virtual events just can't offer. Hallway meetings, finding that obscure booth in the back corner that has exactly what you need," as one Register reader put it.
Or as another said: "Folks REALLY like Vegas."
But perhaps it is time to change. "People have been asking for years why companies fly all over the planet for events, meetings etc. when video conferencing etc. exists," another correspondent said. "This crisis might just force the old habits to stop when they SEE it's unnecessary and money can be saved."
And money is what may settle the issue. Undoubtedly, many conferences will be pushed online for the remainder of the year. Sales will be down and IT companies will blame COVID-19 for the depressed state of the market.
When the market bounces back, vendors will get a visceral sense they are missing out on sales, and conferences will be back. But they will be smaller, fewer and cause less environmental damage. And that's a good thing. Perhaps it's time to let what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas. ®
[1] https://www.oreilly.com/conferences/from-laura-baldwin.html
[2] https://events.sap.com/sapandasug/en/event-news
[3] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/23/google_io_2020_cancelled/
[4] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/07/tragedy_ces_squeeze_forces_frequent_flier_hotshots_into_economy_hell/
[5] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/03/google_cancels_cloud_next_conference/
There's absolutely NO reason for these junkets to be held physically bar the one reason that you mention above. The amount of insight I've gained just by talking to people so far removed from my rhomboid of influence is immeasurable.
However, I have recently become very aware of the impact of them (and Vegas is a s**thole of outstanding proportions)
It's not just massive conferences that are going to change. In my sector (HE) the question is: Why do we need a big campus anymore?
The other question our place is asking: Why the heck did we buy loads of desktop PCs? They are now all sat in offices gathering dust whilst we scramble around to buy loads of laptops.
It's not just massive conferences that are going to change
Depending on how things go, we could see a few countries radically rethinking their systems of government. International trade is likely to change significantly as concerns about supply-chain stability increasingly outweigh bottom line costs.
Until we all forget.
Re: "Why the heck did we buy loads of desktop PCs"
Some time ago I got a lot of downvotes for suggesting my company was doing the right thing by replacing desktops with laptops (while keeping the peripherals) so we'd be mobile if needed.
Who's laughing now? (not me, I'm self isolating and that's not funny)
I disagree
This pandemic is a temporary thing. We were globally all caught with our pants down, despite SARS and MERS, but that's because this COVID-19 is much more transmissible, and that much more dangerous.
But we'll get a handle on this, and the vaccine will come, in time. Things will more or less go back to what they were, and life will resume. Conferences will resume, because they are way too useful to not have, for all sorts of reasons.
People are not going to simply stop meeting face-to-face. It can be hoped, however, that people will have learned to properly wash their hands.
The next time a pandemic rolls in, we'll be better prepared and know how to react. We'll switch to online conferencing seamlessly, and ride it out like we are doing now. And, when it's all over, we'll go back to living as before.
Its not just
the IT mob missing out.... it was my turn to goto a robot machinery conference/showcase* this year and its been cancelled.
Just hope we're still in business next year so I can miss out again
*Usual disclaimer : alledgedly to see/touch/get sold on new tech, but more likely find the stands that have'nt run out of a free beer and as for those companies not offerring free beer at their stands... guess they'll never know why they cant sell their products at these shows.....
Beer icon because most of the demo sessions go like this
Salesman : blah blah blah best tech ever blah blah, any questions?
The mob : Wheres the beer?
Really!
Or as another said: "Folks REALLY like Vegas."
Back when Sun was a thing, I had the misfortune of spending 10 days in Vegas, occasionally busy but mainly bored in the endless Vegas twilight. Being cooped up in 24/7 gambling central is not my idea of a good time. Perhaps not being a gambler, a fan of US beer, or any of the other 'entertainments' on offer didn't help. Each to their own I guess.
Beer, because I'm missing supporting my local pub.
Re: Really!
Been there done it.
1983
Arrives with Sales team 5 days before to build the stand, a 1500 piece aluminium Geodisic dome. Salesmen bugger off and leave me to it as I'm the engineer. Spend next 5 days dawn to dusk building the bloody thing and setting data links up back to UK. Being 7 hours in front meant a really early start. 4 days on stand dawn to dusk then 3 days dismantling and repacking stand dawn to dusk.
All I saw in 2 weeks was the hotel, cabs and inside of the exhibition hall. Could've been anywhere.
1985
Different complicated stand, rectangular with a central tower. Exact same scenario.
Re: Really!
That sounds depressing and tiring. I was at least only giving technical talks at break out sessions so had more than enough time to be thoroughly bored.
Re: Really!
I spent one day in Vegas while doing a road trip with a friend in 1997. Turns out it was the day Tyson bit Holyfields ear off. I had no idea what was going on as I have zero interest in boxing. I was just puzzled as to why I was seeing what appeared to be the worlds entire supply of stretch limos driving around town. I couldn't get out of the town fast enough.
Got to a motel in Boulder City that evening, nipped across the road to a fuel station for some beer. Went outside a couple of hours later to see multiple police cars at the fuel station. It had just been held up in an armed robbery.
Junk-IT
Beyond IT, US 'conferences' were often excuses for USians with minimal holidays ('vacations') to get paid time by a pool, while in 'Europe' they were junkets for elderly supervisory boards to ride around on coaches with their wives (while the poor saps back home got a chance to do real work without being countermanded). Those motivations may not change.
Junket alert!
What are all the poor IT managers supposed to do now that their precious junkets are being cancelled left-right-and-centre?
---> Think of the IT mangers!
Call me old fashioned, but these events were useful for meeting other people and networking. I used to talk to others to get opinions, attend technical conferences, prod and poke at 'stuff', and pose questions to presenters. You could usually get a 'feel' for something by doing this. You don't get the same experience when doing this online. You don't get to ask the awkward questions and watch for reactions (a dead give-away when people are bluffing). And no, I didn't go just to get freebies, and I didn't go just to get off of work. I only ever went to conferences where there would be something of interest that would help me with performing my job.
Personally, I think the industry will be a poorer place if events just stopped.