14 DAY TRIAL // The coronavirus outbreak, which now expands to more locations across the globe, is also affecting the tech world, as many industry giants are now canceling their events or moving them to an online-only mode to prevent the virus from spreading.
Basically, because of the high risk of infection, tech companies not only that request employees to work from home, but also cancel or postpone their biggest events.
Several have already confirmed that the upcoming conferences would only be streamed online without any attendees in an attempt to prevent large group of individuals staying together in just one place.
Below you can find a list of companies and tech events whose schedule has already been impacted by the coronavirus – updates will be published regularly.
Microsoft
- Microsoft MVP Global Summit (March 16-19, 2020) – Virtual event (online-only)
“In light of recent developments globally and the growing concerns around the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Microsoft has made the decision that this year’s MVP/ Regional Director Summit will be an online-only / virtual event. It will be scheduled for the same week (Mar 16-19),” Microsoft said.
- Microsoft Build 2020 (May 19-21) – Virtual event (online-only)
- Microsoft Inspire (July 19-23) – Decision pending
- Microsoft Ignite 2020 (September 21-25) – Decision pending
- Google Cloud Next ’20 (April 7-8) – Virtual event (online-only)
“We are transforming the event into Google Cloud Next ’20: Digital Connect, a free, global, digital-first, multi-day event connecting our attendees to Next ’20 content and each other through streamed keynotes, breakout sessions, interactive learning and digital “ask an expert” sessions with Google teams,” Google says.
- Google I/O – Canceled (online-only expected)
“Due to concerns around the coronavirus (COVID-19), and in accordance with health guidance from the CDC, WHO, and other health authorities, we have decided to cancel the physical Google I/O event at Shoreline Amphitheatre.”
Others
- Apple WWDC (June 3-7) – Decision pending
- Facebook F8 Developer Conference (May 5-6) – Canceled (locally hosted events, videos and live-streamed content planned)
- Facebook Global Marketing Summit (March 9-12) – Canceled
“In light of the growing concerns around COVID-19, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the in-person component of F8 this year, in order to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on,” Facebook says.
- Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (March 22-26) – Virtual event (online-only)
- Game Developer Conference (March 16-20) – Canceled (possibly to take place in the summer)
- Adobe Summit 2020 (March 29 – April 2) – Virtual event (online-only)
Additional measures
Tech companies have also announced extra measures to protect employees against the coronavirus outbreak, including the following:
- Amazon – non-essential employee travel restricted
- Apple – non-essential employee travel to China, Italy, South Korean (possibly other destinations too) restricted
- Salesforce – international travel banned, non-essential domestic employee travel restricted
- Twitter – employees working from home
“In addition to the travel, event and visitor restrictions that we previously shared, today we provided additional guidance as we look to protect the health and safety of our workforce. Beginning today, we are strongly encouraging all employees globally to work from home if they’re able. Our goal is to lower the probability of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus for us - and the world around us. We are operating out of an abundance of caution and the utmost dedication to keeping our Tweeps healthy,” Twitter says.
- Microsoft – offering free six-month trial of Microsoft Teams premium plan for remote work
- Google – free access to Hangouts Meet features for G Suite for remote work
UPDATE, MARCH 5:
- Canonical WSLConf (March 10-11) - Virtual event (online-only)
- Red Hat Summit 2020 (April 28-29) - Virtual event (online-only)