Top 23 IT/Tech Conferences of 2021 - BMC Blogs

Top 23 IT/Tech Conferences of
2021
Each year, hundreds of tech and IT conferences deliver access
to top professionals, sneak peeks of the latest technologies,
and unique networking opportunities that can help you advance
your career.

Of course, this past year saw many annual conferences move
online to virtual convention centers, and, unfortunately, many
other conferences cancelled altogether. In 2021, we should
expect more online-only events. The upside of these virtual
events:

     You can hear directly from leaders in a more intimate
     way, without the hassle of travel.
     The content might be spread out or recorded for later,
     so you can engage with it when you’re ready.
     Many of these events are free. Even those with
     attendance fees are thousands of dollars less than in-
     person events. (Finally attend a pricey conference
     you’ve never been able to expense!)

This year as every year, we research and curate a list of the
top IT and tech conferences. We’re excited to share this
year’s top conferences with you. This list is ordered by date
and will be updated regularly, so check back often.

Feel free to reach out if you would like to add a tech/IT
conference to the directory. To be considered, please email
all details including the conference name, dates of the event,
location, and a link to the event’s website to blogs@bmc.com.

For more topic-specific conference, check out our other
conference round-ups, including Top DevOps Conferences,
Programming & Software Dev Conferences, and CyberSecurity
Conferences.

(This article is part of our IT Conferences & Events Guide.
Use the right-hand menu to navigate.)

Top IT Conferences of 2021
Consumer Electronics Shows
Date: January 5-8, 2021
Location: Las Vegas, NV & Online

For over 50 years, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has
been the starting point for the newest technologies and
innovations in the world. Held in Las Vegas, CES has been the
global gathering place for all those involved in consumer
technologies and the next generation of innovations,
showcasing products in the areas of 3D Printing, Augmented &
Virtual Reality, Computer Hardware/Software/Services, and
more.

This year’s event is mostly virtual, with far fewer in-person
attendees and events. Still, the key speakers are the top
caliber you expect from CES, including:

Mary Barra, CEO General Motors
     Anne Chow, CEO AT&T Business
     Keith Enright, Chief Privacy Officer Google
     Cathy Engelbert, Commissioner WNBA
     Adrienne Lofton, VP North America Marketing Nike

Digital Workplace              Experience:           Virtual
Conference Series
Date: February 11, May 13, July 15 & October 14
Location: Online
Cost: Free

Digital Workplace Experience (DWX) is turning their usual
three-day event into a series of free virtual events
throughout the year. The focus of these events is on
successful digital workplaces and how your company can become
one. This event has been running for years, but it’s our hunch
that it’s taken on even more meaning and interest in the past
year.

Who should attend?

     Intranet, Knowledge and Collaboration Leaders
     L&D, HR and Employee Experience Executives
     Communications & Company Culture Owners

Each of the four event days has its own theme:

     February 11, 2021: Navigating the R/Evolution of Work
     May 13, 2021: Collaboration & the Knowledge Ecosystem in
     Modern Organizations
     July 15, 2021: Employee Experience, Digital Literacy &
     Workforce Skills
     October 14, 2021: Future Workplace: Emerging Technology,
     Innovation & Intelligent Platforms

SHARE Virtual Summit
Date: March 2021
Location: Online
Cost: Free to $399, depending on your membership

SHARE is an event handcrafted by volunteers to help
professionals expand knowledge, enhance skills and increase
organizational efficiencies by focusing on SHARE’s three main
tenets: Educate, Network, Influence. Your one-stop shop for
Enterprise IT education, SHARE provides an opportunity for
attendees to enjoy a longstanding tradition of advancing the
enterprise technology industry through interactive meetups and
networking events along with keynotes and sessions.

This year’s event will be spread over each week in March.
Depending on your interests and career path, look forward to
sessions on enterprise topics like:

     DevOps
     MVS
     CICS
     Zowe
     Open Source on Z
     Much more!

MIT Technology Review Presents: EmTech
Digital 2021
Date: March 23-25, 2021
Location: Online
Cost: $800-$1,200

Join MIT Technology Review for the latest in its esteemed
EmTech Events Series: EmTech Digital 2021. This is the
esteemed media outlet’s annual event on everything AI. The
theme of this year’s artificial intelligence event is the age
of implementation. EmTech Digital 2021 is exactly for those

companies who want to do AI right.

Join industry leaders, executives and experts as they examine
last year’s amazing advances in AI and discuss the most
pressing issues in AI adoption, ethics and trust. Featured
speakers include:

     Anima Anandkumar, Director of Machine Learning Research,
     NVIDIA
     Madeleine Clare Elish, Senior Research Scientist,
     Ethical AI, Google
     Dario Gil, Director, IBM Research
     Xuedong Huang, Technical Fellow and Chief Technology
     Officer, Azure Cognitive Services, Microsoft
     Andrew Ng, Founder and CEO, Landing AI

Gartner Digital Workplace Summit
Date: April 26-27, 2021
Location: Online, Americas
Cost: $975-$1,450

At the Gartner Digital Workplace Summit, the world’s leading
IT advisory company offers you the chance to be the first to
hear about emerging trends and latest predictions surrounding
the future of work, provides an action plan to build the
digital workplace of tomorrow, and offers real-world solutions
for leveraging these technologies your organization.

Gartner’s Digital Workplace Summit is geared specifically
towards the roles of digital workplace leaders, architects, IT
leadership, and application leaders. The 2021 conference’s
four tracks are:

     Track A: Build, Adapt and Execute a Digital Workplace
     Strategy
     Track B: Leverage the Right Innovative Technologies for
     Your Organization
     Track C: Build a Secure Foundation for Seamless

Operations
     Track D: Create a Frictionless Employee Experience

Adobe Summit
Date: April 27-28, 2021
Location: Online
Cost: Free

We love, love, love that Adobe Summit is free this year! The
Summit is focused on all things customer experience. That
means every organization or business could learn a thing or
two (or a lot more than that) on how to best serve your
customers, driving business growth and customer loyalty.

The speakers for the 2021 event haven’t been announced yet,
but this list from last year’s event offers some clues:

     Shantanu Narayen, CEO Adobe
     Satya Nadella, CEO Microsoft
     Hubert Joly, CEO Best Buy
     Atticus Tusen, CIO Intuit
     Mindy Kaling, Actress/Writer/Producer
     Pam Oliver, FOX Sports

Gartner Data & Analytics Summit
Date:May 4-6, 2021
Location: Online, Americas
Cost: $975-$1,045

Another industry-leading event from Gartner, this Data &
Analytics Summit focuses exactly on that: how your
organization can develop a resilient data and analytics
strategy that leverages both data-driven decision making and
AI. This event is for everyone in your data analytics
function, from technical- to senior-level strategy.

The 2021 event will offer a variety of tracks:

Track A: Leadership and Skills: Be the Change Maker
     Track B: Business Strategy and Outcomes: Accelerate the
     Value
     Track C: Trust, Governance and Privacy: An Urgent
     Imperative
     Track D: Analytics Everywhere: Drive Pervasive Outcomes
     Track E: Technical Insights: The Art of the Pragmatic
     Track F: Data and Analytics Architecture: The Foundation
     of Your Digital Acceleration
     Track G: AI, Data Science and Machine Learning: The
     Future Is Now
     Track H: Emerging Technologies and Trends: Compose the
     Future

There’s also a special section, the Chief Data Officer Circle,
that’s aimed particularly at CDOs and senior analytics
leadership.

IBM Think
Date: May 11-12, 2021 – Americas; May 12-13, 2021 – APAC &
EMEA
Location: Online
Cost: TBD

IBM Think is IBM’s global flagship conference. This year’s
digital event experience will take everything online, but its
premise is the same:to be the leading AI and hybrid cloud
event in the world.

Think is where advances in world-changing technologies become
real. The digital experience promises:

     Real-world case studies
     Technical exploration
     Community engagement
     Visionary thought leadership

This year’s speakers aren’t yet announced. But, to support an

exceptional online event, IBM will deliver:

     Personalized curriculum
     Credential-building education
     New ways to engage

Digital Enterprise Show
Date: May 18-20, 2021
Location: Madrid, Spain
Cost: €60-€1,500

This year’s Digital Enterprise Show (DES) is one of the few
in-person events open to us tech professionals. DES is a
prominent event all about digital transformation. This year’s
event looks at the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry
4.0 as it’s better known in Europe, and how it informs
successful digital transformation.

All industries are welcome here, to learn about technologies
including:

     AI
     IoT
     Blockchain
     Cloud
     Cybersecurity
     AR/VR
     Big Data
     Marketing Automation
     Dedicated products for Digital Marketing and Industry
     4.0

Citrix Synergy
Citrix Synergy     is one of the top industry conferences on
digital business   transformation.This year, as last, Citrix has
opted against a    single in-person event. Instead, Citrix will
offer a variety    of online courses and content throughout the

year. Learn more on their website.

ESPC21 Online
Date: June 1-2, 2021
Location: Online
Cost: Conference and tutorial packages available; starting at
€59

European SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure Conferences, aka
ESPC21 Online, offers affordable, world-class Microsoft 365
learning at your fingertips, from wherever you are in the
world. Tune in live or catch up on-demand across 100+ sessions
from SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure experts including
Microsoft team members, independent community leaders, RDs,
MVPs & MCMs.

Last year’s event also took place online, so expect optimized
online experiences and learning opportunities from ESPC21.

Creatio Low-Code Marathon
Date: June 1-14, 2021
Location: Online
Cost: Free

Creatio’s Low-Code Marathon is a 10-day business marathon to
guide IT and digital leaders on how to build a successful
digital-first organization using low-code/no-code technology.
The online event will gather leading tech minds and low-code
experts to showcase how to successfully adapt businesses, from
any industry, to continuously changing circumstances.

The business marathon’s agenda features over 50+ sessions
focused on all aspects of creating digital-first
organizations. Session hosts will demonstrate low-code/no-code
use cases for different industries, including financial
services, manufacturing, professional services, telecom, high
tech, insurance, healthcare, and more. During the live

sessions, attendees will learn about real-life experiences of
how forward-thinking organizations globally are leveraging
low-code technology to accelerate.

IDUG Virtual North America 2021 Db2 Tech
Conference
Date: June 7-16, 2021
Location: Online
Cost: $299

The International Db2 Users Group (IDUG ® ) is the foremost
independent, user-driven community that provides a direct
channel to thousands of professional Db2 users across the
globe. IDUG’s annual North American event brings Db2
professionals together online this year.

As always, the agenda is packed with programming! Look for
SIGs, VSPs, keynotes, educational seminars, workshops, hands-
on labs, and more. BMC Software, a gold-level sponsor, will be
holding several sessions throughout the event, including:

     Optimization Hints Grow Up
     World-class Db2 DataOps for the Autonomous Digital
     Enterprise
     Squeeze Your Data with Db2: A History of Compression
     Mainframe-Inclusive DevOps & Db2 DevOps with BMC
     You Can’t Automate Mainframe Testing! Or Can You?
     Let My Data Go: Using z/OSMF REST APIs to Set Your Data
     Free
     Tuning SQL that Still Works!
     Distributed Data in Db2: Coding Techniques & Accessing
     Distributed Data

Don’t miss out on this must-attend event—register now!

(Learn more in our Complete Guide to IDUG Db2 Events.)

DeepSource Next ’21
Date: June 8, 2021
Location: Online
Cost: Free

DeepSource Next is an annual virtual conference by DeepSource
focused around the future of code reviews and the practice of
writing good code. Listen to exciting product updates,
keynotes, panels featuring some of the most prominent people
in the developer tools ecosystem, and fireside chats from
people you admire.

EmTech Next
Date: June 8-10, 2021
Location: Online
Cost: $800-$1,200 per person

Tailored to decision-makers across all industries, EmTech Next
is a three-day online event that will examine the impact and
lessons learned over this past year as we begin to navigate
through a forever-changed workforce. Hear from the experts on
how advancements in technologies and leadership strategies
will advance you through a newly revolutionized business
world.

Dublin Tech Summit: DTS Virtual 2021
Date: June 17, 2021
Location: Online
Cost: TBD

The Dublin Tech Summit brings together top global leaders in
technology, innovation, and business to help shape the future
of trends and technologies. The 2020 DTS event was also
online, with over 5,000 participants from 60+ countries.

The speakers for DTS 2021 aren’t yet announced, but you can

expect similar speakers like those from last year:

     Harry D. Moseley, Global CIO, Zoom
     Bryan Che, CSO, Huawei
     Kristine Dahl Steidel, VP End User Computing EMEA,
     VMWare

IFA (Consumer Electronics Unlimited)
Date: September 3-7, 2021
Location: Berlin, Germany

IFA is held in Berlin, Germany, and is the leading trade show
for consumer electronics and home appliances. Known for
offering an extensive overview of the international market,
this six-day event attracts close to 240,000 visitors from
more than 100 different countries. IFA serves as the main
meeting place for key retailers, buyers, and experts from the
industry, showcasing the latest products and innovations.

Details for the 2021 edition aren’t released yet, but take a
look at events and contents from last year’s version on the
website.

TNW (The Next Web)
Date: TBD (Likely fall)
Location: Online

TNW Conference is a highly anticipated technology festival
that brings together international technology executives, top-
tier investors and promising startups for two days of business
and knowledge sharing. Over the past 12 editions, TNW
Conference has grown from a 200-person event to one of the
leading technology events, bringing together 15,000 attendees
a day and 3,500 companies from all over the world.

TNW2020 was taken online. Thought we don’t have new details
for the 2021 version, we have a hunch TNW will be back. Check

back here later for more details.

IT Arena 2021
Date: October 8-10, 2021
Location: Lviv, Ukraine
Cost: TBD

The theme of IT Arena is “The speed of change”, which
certainly feels appropriate this year. IT Arena is the largest
tech event in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. The three-day
conference, conducted exclusively in English, brings together
more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, investors, developers, business
analysts, and designers every year.

2021 dates for IT Arena are confirmed online, but most other
details aren’t released yet. The 2020 version was taken
online, where you can look at the agenda and some content.

Google Cloud Next
Date: October 12-14, 2021
Location: TBD
Cost: TBD

Google Cloud Next is the conference to attend if you are
interested in hearing more from Google executives about new
and updated cloud services. According to Google, “It is too
early to determine the exact shape and experience of the event
and how it might potentially span the digital and physical
worlds—so please stay tuned for updates as we plan with the
health and safety of all in mind.”

In the meantime, watch content from the 2020 in-person event
or listen to speakers like:

     Sundar Pichai, CEO Google & Alphabet
     Thomas Kurian, CEO Google Cloud
     Melonie Parker, Chief Diversity Officer & Employee

Engagement, Google
     Kelsey Hightower, Developer & Open Source Advocate,
     Google

(As soon as there’s more, we’ll be updating our Complete Guide
to Google Cloud Next.)

BMC Exchange 2021
Date: TBA
Location: Online
Cost: Free

Of course, we can’t forget our flagship annual event BMC
Exchange. Last year marked the first time we took Exchange
online, with three days full of live speakers, classes, and
brainstorming sessions.

BMC Exchange 2020 offered a customizable format so you could
curate content for your career, something we expect to build
on for this year. The event included inspiring keynotes and
use case-focused sessions to help you meet today’s technology
challenges while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities. BMC
Exchange includes:

     Exciting keynotes to help you drive organizational
     change
     Interactive,     informational,     and    entertaining
     sessions focused on your role
     Product and strategy insights to see where BMC
     innovation can take you on your growth path
     Exhibition Hall featuring BMC partners, cutting-edge
     technology vendors, and BMC Innovation Labs

(Watch the 2020 keynote from BMC CEO Ayman Sayed or browse
agendas from Day 1 & Day 2.)

Augmented World Expo
Date: November 9-11, 2021
Location: Online
Cost: $395-$1,295

The Augmented World Expo (AWE) is the largest conference and
expo on augmented reality in the world. This year’s tag line
is “It’s time to go spatial. Get awe-inspired with the best in
AR/VR and Spatial Computing!”

Though this year’s event will be held entirely online, you can
still expect the three-day format that includes a virtual
exhibit hall, the Auggie Awards ceremony, happy hours, and the
AWE playground and after-hours experiences.

AWS re:Invent 2021
Date: November 29-December 3, 2021
Location: Las Vegas, NV

The largest gathering of the global cloud community has
announced dates and location for its 2021 events. Sign up on
their website for details and updates.

Join the global cloud computing community for keynote
announcements, training and certification programs, over 750
technical sessions, energy hub-the partner expo, after-hours
events, and more opportunities to educate, entertain, and
engage with the best and brightest business and IT decision
makers, hottest startups, and visionary technology leaders.

(Attending re:Invent? Check out our Complete Guide to AWS
re:Invent for more information.)