The COVID-19 global context in which we are immersed forced many tech conferences either to reschedule or cancel, especially the ones taking place in the first half of the year. A lot of events, however, opted to go fully digital. This change brings with it new opportunities for people to be part of conferences of their interest, from the comfort of home. Now you can access events from all around the world without caring about travel expenses or accommodation. How does that sound?
Without further ado let’s dive into the best virtual technology conferences in 2020, from the first to the last.
Cisco Live
- When: June 2-3, 2020
- Cost: Free
Cisco Live is a free digital event from the people of Cisco, focused on everything technology. Keynotes with IT industry experts, innovation talks, technical demos, and more. Cisco Live covers a wide range of topics such as cloud computing, data center, IoT, 5G, or cybersecurity.
On both days of the event, they will deliver four simultaneous streaming channels with custom content for specific audiences, so there will most likely be something suitable for your needs. You can check the full agenda here.
Registrations are open now at no cost!
MGS Global Virtual Conference
- When: June 2-4, 2020
- Cost: From $30 USD
MGS Global Virtual Conference is an event held digitally, about the mobile app industry. Topics include mobile growth, marketing for apps, product management, industry trends, and everything a mobile app publisher needs to know.
There will be more than 70 sessions and about a hundred speakers coming from leading companies such as Google, Grubhub, or LinkedIn. The event also allows attendees to access a virtual lounge and host one-on-one chats, something that could be pretty interesting for networking.
Tickets are on sale on Eventbrite, starting from $30 for total access.
WSJ Tech Health
- When: June 2, 2020
- Cost: Invitations only
The Wall Street Journal Tech Health is an annual summit about health technology. Going full virtual now, it will address the coronavirus context and the role that technology plays during it.
The event plans to convene tech and health experts to discuss the implication of technology and innovation in response to the pandemic. They will also cover the challenges and opportunities that the new global context brings to companies large and small.
WSJ Tech Health is by invitation. You can request one by completing this form.
LiveWorx
- When: June 9, 2020
- Cost: Free
LiveWorx, held virtually on June 9, 2020, is a one-day technology event focused on digital transformation. It’s meant to share with those in the industrial enterprise how to achieve business efficiencies, bringing together the digital tools, solutions, and technologies that are transforming companies worldwide.
Among its content, you’ll find talks on AR, AI, robotics, Internet of Things, and specific keynotes about industry verticals like retail or manufacturing.
You can register for free by following this link.
DevSecCon
- When: June 15, 2020
- Cost: Free
DevSecCon 24 is a virtual conference about DevOps and Security. A whole day of talks from industry experts on the practice of building security into development processes.
In 2015, DevSecOps started as a single conference in London. Five years later, it now takes place in four other locations around the world such as the USA or Singapore. Due to the global situation, they decided to go fully digital for the first time, delivering the entire conference for free.
You can register now on Eventbrite for full access to the virtual conference and expo.
DeveloperWeek
- When: June 16-17, 2020
- Cost: Free
DeveloperWeek Global 2020 is a virtual developer & engineering conference, with more than a hundred keynote & technical talks, virtual hackathon, virtual expo, and prizes for supporting the dev community.
The event delivers tracks about software development, artificial intelligence, DevOps, project management, and more. It is one of the largest series of events regarding the dev industry, hosted by DevNetwork.
Grab your free access right here.
Apple WWDC
- When: June 22, 2020
- Cost: Free
Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is the most important Swift/iOS development conference out there. Held every year in California, it showcases the newest improvements and updates on the entire Apple ecosystem. Because of coronavirus, it is going fully digital now.
You can download the Apple Developer app to stay informed of its sessions and news.
P.S. We are looking forward to seeing the updates on Apple’s Augmented Reality framework; ARKit.
Spark + AI Summit
- When: June 22-26, 2020
- Cost: Free
Spark + AI Summit is a conference built around Apache Spark, the open-source processing engine. It will deliver talks not only about the engine itself but also about everything AI, data science, deep learning, and machine learning. Five days, more than 200 sessions, keynotes with engineers from companies like Google, Facebook, Databricks, and Microsoft. Everything online!
Registrations are open for everyone at no cost.
Collision
- When: June 23-25, 2020
- Cost: From $99 USD
Collision is a digital conference focused on how technology is shaping the world we know. It features notable people in the business industry such as Microsoft’s President Brad Smith, Under Armor’s CEO Patrik Frisk, Slack’s CTO Cal Henderson, and many more. Three days with about a hundred hours of content regarding innovation, AI & Machine Learning, mobile development, leadership, and the impact that coronavirus will have on the future of technology.
Tickets are available from $99 plus taxes for general access.
ICML 2020
- When: July 12-16, 2020
- Cost: From $50 USD
The 37th International Conference on Machine Learning will take place entirely virtually, from July 12 to 16. It’s one of the most important academic conferences worldwide about the field, gathering professionals fully dedicated to Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence. Among its topics, there’ll be discussions on machine vision, speech recognition, data science, and robotics.
Regular tickets are sold for $100, with a 50% discount for students.
Microsoft Inspire
- When: July 21-22, 2020
- Cost: From $50 USD
Microsoft Inspire is an annual conference from Microsoft, about the company’s view for the upcoming year, networking, product innovations, and learning. This time it’s going digital, no cost to attend.
There’ll be talks from Microsoft’s leaders and industry experts on business strategies, leadership, and innovation. You’ll also have the chance to access a digital platform to see product demos, training sessions, and to connect with other Microsoft’s partners.
Learn more on Microsoft’s official website (registrations open in June).
GDC Summer
- When: August 4-6, 2020
- Cost: $299 USD
The Game Developers Conference is a three-day virtual event focused on the whole game development field. It aims to connect the global game development community to discuss updates on the industry, insights, trends, and share learnings. The event features content from well-known companies such as Epic Games, Amazon, Intel, Nvidia, and Sony. Though digital, GDC plans to provide networking opportunities as well for every attendee.
Early tickets are available right now for $299, or $49 for students.
TechCrunch Disrupt
- When: September 14-18, 2020
- Cost: $245 USD
Probably one of the most popular technology conferences in the world, TechCrunch Disrupt is going fully virtual this year. We went to the 2016’s San Francisco edition and we wrote a review of our experience which tells you exactly what to expect and not.
Basically, the event gathers industry experts and leading companies to discuss everything technology, provide insights to entrepreneurs, and share thoughts on the future of the industry. It also offers a place for startups to showcase their business, product demos, and uncover innovations. In terms of networking, TC Disrupt will leverage CrunchMatch, a networking tool designed to allow attendees to have one-on-one virtual meetings with each other.
They offer several digital passes. For instance, the main Disrupt Stage will be live-streamed free. Then, there’s the Disrupt Digital Pro Pass that grants you full access to everything the event has to offer for $245. You can check out the full packages list here.
Microsoft Ignite
- When: September 2020
- Cost: Not confirmed
Due to the global situation, Microsoft Ignite switches as well to online-only. It is one of the biggest Microsoft conferences for technology professionals and software developers. The event will feature keynotes and talks on programming languages, artificial intelligence, machine learning, app development, and the whole Microsoft ecosystem.
Registration fees are not yet confirmed, though you can sign up for updates on its official site.
Final thoughts
These are the virtual technology conferences & events we considered to be among the most worth-it ones in 2020. Don’t hesitate to share with us the events we might have missed.
Are you looking for your next technology/software development partner? Tell us about your project!
