Yesterday the world could not catch up from the appearance of the automatic gearbox, and today it calmly perceives the autopilot in the car. We quickly get used to IT news. But their development led to only one result: new developments appear more and more often and faster. Because there is still something to be surprised.

A completely different problem arose: how to get to know all the innovations? Search the web? A good option, but you are guaranteed to not be able to find everything. Why? After the first 3-5 links you will see that the data is repeated. After all, it’s written about the most popular news firstly.

But in order to learn as much as possible from first-hand information, it is necessary to attend conferences. Therefore, we have compiled a list of the best events to be held in 2020.

What is special about IT conferences

The life cycle of information technology is getting shorter every day. New competitors are completely changing any industry using digital capabilities. Customer and employee expectations are constantly rising. Business needs to adapt to this on time. Accordingly, it is necessary to learn about best practices as early as possible.

Thus, IT conferences are a great opportunity for the training and communication of all IT professionals. It doesn't matter if you want to get a new knowledge base or just meet like-minded people - you need an IT conference.

Oracle Openworld

Site: Orale Openworld UK, Oracle OpenWorld US, Oracle OpenWorld Middle East

Place: Excel, London, Great Britain; Las Vegas, California, USA; Dubai, UAE

Date: 12-13 February, 2020; 21-24 September, 2020; 14-15 January, 2020

Cost: Information will be available to all registered by email a few days before the event.

Oracle OpenWorld is an annual convention for business decision makers, IT managers, and even end users. The conference is held in various places around the world and covers all issues: from commerce, cloud computing and interaction with social networks to IT security, scalability, Big Data and business intelligence.

Key topics (London):

• new opportunities for working with data (databases, management, analytics);
• AI at the workplace (machine learning, autonomous technology);
• transformational technologies (blockchain, Internet of things, AR / VR);
• development of cloud applications (tools, microservices, DevOps);
• IT as a new core of business.

In mid-January, a conference was held in Dubai, where similar topics were discussed. Therefore, you can already see the approximate format of the technology conference in 2020. In addition, in the fall, Oracle will hold a conference in the United States, but data about it is not yet available (registration has not yet been opened).

Speakers at the London conference included people like Safra Katz (CEO Oracle), Dr. Rand Hindi (CEO Zama), Rob Tarkoff (Executive Vice President CX Cloud, Oracle), and comedian Dara O`Briain.

O’Reilly Strata Data Conference

Site: O’Reilly Conference

Place: San Jose, California, USA

Date: 15-18 March, 2020 (15-16 trainings, 16-18 conference)

Cost: $1545-$2345 (conference access), $2145-$3345 (trainings access)

Another opportunity to bring together innovators and leaders in the field of IT. Feature of the event - two days of courses with the best practices of innovative technologies. You can directly gain their experience, gain new skills and analyze their case studies.

Key topics:

• AI in enterprise development;
• machine learning for managers;
• cloud computing;
• streaming data;
• Internet of things;

At the O'Reilly Strata Data Conference, you can listen to speakers such as Paige Roberts (Vertica's Open Source Manager), Jin Hyuk Chang (Software Engineer Lyft), and John-Mark Agosta (Data Science Senior Research Fellow) Microsoft), Mudasir Ahmad (Senior Director at Cisco) and many others.

Gartner Digital Workplace Summit

Site: Gartner Digital Workplace Summit

Place: Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Date: 16-17 March, 2020

Cost: $3275

Gartner, the world's leading research and consulting company, hosts dozens of events every year, from seminars to full-scale conferences and summits. One of the permanent congresses is the Digital Workplace Summit, during which experts talk about trends and forecasts for the future work of mankind.

Key topics:

• planning, deploying, and managing your workplace program;
• new technologies and operational applications;
• creating a pleasant and rewarding experience for employees.

There will be many Gartner experts among speakers this year. So, you can listen to the speeches of Jason Cherato (senior director and analyst), Nikos Dracos (vice president of analytics) and Gavin Teya (director of research).

IBM Think

Site: IBM.com

Place: San Francisco, California, USA

Date: 4-7 May, 2020

Cost: $995-2495

IBM Think is IBM’s leading global conference today covering artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and IT infrastructure. This event is intended for people who transform industries into the business of the future and create better solutions, whether it is a developer, ui/ux designer, architect or leader. The conference includes over 200 sessions and many networking opportunities.

Key topics:

• automation;
• implementation of the blockchain;
• new features of fast coding;
• servers and databases of the future;
• supply chain with AI and blockchain.

Many developers do not forgive themselves for the baseless skipping of this conference. One of the reasons is the speakers, who are the best experts in their fields. So, this year, Ginny Rometti (chairman of the board of directors and CEO of IBM), Arvind Krishna (senior vice president of cloud computing at IBM), Jim Whitehurst (CEO of Red HAT), Ralph Clark (CEO Shotspotter) and many others.

IT Arena 2020

Site: ITarena

Place: Lviv, Ukraine

Date: 2-4 October, 2020

Cost: $220-600

The conference has been held for 6 years and during this time more than 10,000 people became its participants, 500 speakers appeared on stage, 650 start-ups were presented, 400 hours of networking were held. The event also hosts competitions between start-ups for grants. Thus, this is an opportunity not only to gain new knowledge, but also to realize your own idea.

Key topics:

• development of marketing technologies;
• organization culture as part of IT development;
• ensuring data confidentiality;
• trends in autonomous management;
• principles of a successful product;

This year, more than 4,000 participants and more than 50 startups, as well as more than 100 speakers have already been registered, including: Daniel Dines (CEO and founder of UiPath), Sharon Law (product manager at Microsoft), Oobach Butler (founder of The Number 1 Agency) Chris Baker (CEO SoftServe).

Pink20

Site: Pink20

Place: Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Date: 16-19 February, 2020

Cost: $2295-2595

Pink20 is a comprehensive conference and exhibition of ITSM. The theme of the conference is “IT & Batman: Ordinary People Doing Unusual Things.” The bottom line is that, unlike other superheroes, Batman does not have superpowers. But he is successful thanks to his ingenuity and ability to create incredible technological things. This year Pink will have 9 tracks and over 120 sessions covering a wide range of topics:

• IT service management;
• LEAN IT;
• Agile and Scrum methods;
• DevOps;
• management of organizational change;
• Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT).

Once on Pink20, you listen to speeches by experts such as George Spalding (executive vice president of Pink Elephant), Peter Adams (senior director and product manager for BMC Software, Inc) and Catherine Newman (CCO AXELOS).

Red Hat Summit 2020

Site: Red Hat Summit

Place: San-Francisco, California, USA

Date: 27-29 April, 2020

Cost: $1395 (to 27 February), $1795 (to 26 April), $1995 (purchase on the spot)

This event is for those who are preparing for the future of technology - a future based on open source. This is an annual IT industry event held by Red Hat, the world's leading provider of enterprise IT solutions since 2005. Red Hat Summit, one of the premier technology events for thousands of IT professionals, focuses on innovation and focus on high-performance Linux products, cloud technology, automation and control systems.

Key topics:

• Cloud-native development;
• hybrid cloud infrastructure;
• IT automation and optimization;
• digital conversion.

This year, more than 2,000 companies, about 6,000 participants and about 40 speakers have already been registered, including Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO), Jim Whitehurst (president and CEO of Red Hat), and Stephanie Chiras (vice president and general manager of RHEL Business Unit Red Hat).

Interop 2020

Site: Interop

Place: Austin, Texas, USA

Date: 21-24 September, 2020

Cost: $1699 (conference), $1699 (only trainings), $2499 (full access). When you purchase a ticket on the day of the event, the cost is $600 more.

Interop's goal is to provide you with a vendor-independent educational environment that offers a real understanding of the best IT practices and strategies for your enterprise. You will hear the views of leaders in their industries, as well as colleagues who are faced with ongoing challenges in the IT industry. The conference program is also unique in that it is specially designed to provide a complete picture of the new disciplines in IT.

Key topics:

• IT management;
• DevOps;
• wireless technology;
• automation of routine tasks;
• development of multi-cloud and hybrid cloud infrastructures;
• increasing the value of the product (service) for the user.

To date, the organizing team has not yet disclosed a list of speakers, but it is worth noting that last year such experts as Jude Williams (CIO NCAA), Beth Niblock (CIO and CHI in City of Detroit) and Rene Lahti (CIO in Hitachi Vantara) appeared on stage.

Micro Focus Universe 2020

Site: Micro Focus Universe EU; Micro Focus Universe US

Place: The Hague, The Netherlands; San Antonio, Texas, USA

Date: 17-19 March, 2020; 19-21 May, 2020

Cost: €571; $616

Get ready for 3 instructive days to share and absorb information. Sessions range from stage presentations to workshops and the exchange of experience between colleagues. All this is organized around tracks dedicated to the latest market trends. The conference will allow you to better understand industry practices, gain new knowledge, preview new products and solutions, and watch interactive demonstrations of new products.

Conferences will be held separately in the USA and Europe to make it easier for participants.

Key topics:

• application delivery;
• modernization of applications and setting up communication between them;
• solutions for collaboration;
• IT operations management;
• security and risk management.

Among the many speakers this year, in The Hague, you can listen to the speeches of John Delck (general manager, risk manager for Micro Focus), Tom Goguen (CPO Micro Focus), and Chris Livesey (senior vice president and general manager of Micro Focus). Also at the San Antonio conference, you will hear Leland Melvin (former NASA astronaut), Raffi Margaliot (senior vice president of Micro Focus) and Jennifer Murphy (executive marketing director of Micro Focus).

SITS’2020

Site: SITS

Place: London, Great Britain

Date: 13-14 May, 2020

Cost: entrance for those who register before May 12, 2020 is free; after - £25

A leading European event for professionals in the management and support of IT services. SITS is your chance to move away from everyday life to share best practices, find new solutions and learn a range of practical skills that will help you succeed in your role. The event attracts thousands of ITSM professionals, making it a critical place to discuss industry challenges and develop solutions.

Key topics:

• cyber-attacks and the role of IT in protecting against them;
• standard errors when choosing new tools;
• building a “relationship” with IT processes;
• providing IT support.

SITS is held in the format of seminars, therefore the list of speakers is not yet available. All updates on this issue will come to your email after registration.

The Best IT Conferences 2020 key takeaways:

#1. What is special about IT conferences
#2. Oracle Openworld
#3. O’Reilly Strata Data Conference
#4. Gartner Digital Workplace Summit
#5. IBM Think
#6. IT Arena 2020
#7. Pink20
#8. Red Hat Summit 2020
#9. Interop 2020
#10. Micro Focus Universe 2020
#11. SITS’2020