Your guide to top tech conferences 2018-2019

CIO.com’s sortable, searchable directory of technology conferences makes it easy to find events coming to a convention center near you (or ones worth a trip out of town).

CIO | Sep 24, 2018 12:00 PM PT

Maybe you’re looking to stay on top of emerging trends in your industry, or get a read on what your customers are excited about. Perhaps you’re actively networking for customers, vendors or even a new job. Or you might simply be looking to mingle with your peers in more informal surroundings.

Regardless of your intent, there’s never a bad reason to maintain a solid network of professionals and experts in your vertical or other fields.

We also know it’s hard to keep track of all the great technology conferences you might want to attend in any given month, quarter or year.

That’s why we developed this sortable list, which we’ll update regularly to include the most relevant tech events. While we’ve naturally focused on shows in the U.S., we’ll pay attention to some of the more notable international events as well.

If you can’t make it, or if you’ve already blown through your travel budget, many of these conferences offer virtual and live-streaming options as well.

* This is an IDG Communications Inc. event, the parent company of CIO.com

EVENT	DATES	LOCATION	INFO	CATEGORY
IOT Solutions World Congress	Oct. 16-18, 2018	Barcelona, Spain	The IOTWSC has become an important showcase for services, platforms and technologies related to the Internet of Things. The IOTWSC attracts hundreds of vendors and thousands of techies from all over the world, which makes it a great place for encountering different viewpoints and fresh ideas about the consumer IoT and its smaller cousin, the industrial IoT, both of which are becoming increasingly important to corporate IT strategy. Excellent speakers, panelists, and presenters from organizations large and small make this conference a great choice for CIOs who genuinely want to learn more about the impact of new IoT technologies on traditional enterprise IT.	Internet of Things
* CIO Perspectives	Oct. 18, 2018	Los Angeles	CIO Perspectives Forum, this is the ultimate professional networking event. Loaded with rich content, conversation, and the exchanging of ideas, these regionally focused one-day executive events have been specifically designed for senior IT leaders from mid- to large-sized organizations. CIO Perspective Forum attendees will spend the day sharing management insights and experiences with other senior IT leaders CIOs, VPs and Directors of IT.	Leadership
Oracle OpenWorld	Oct. 22-25, 2018	San Francisco	Oracle’s annual convention will bring together IT management, business decision-makers and line-of-business end users. Typically, the conference will include keynotes from leadership at Oracle and from other partner organizations. There will be over 2,500 additional sessions and workshops that focus on other IT and business-related topics.	Enterprise Technology
Dare Mighty Things	Oct. 29, 2018	Chicago, IL	As one of Inc.’s “8 Top Tech Conferences You Can’t Miss”, join over 1000+ tech executives, entrepreneurs & media for a magical experience at Dare Mighty Things on Oct. 29 in Chicago. The conference leaders promise they will take your mind on a journey you’ll never forget and change the way you see the world.	Leadership
Velocity	Oct. 30 – Nov. 2, 2018	London	The O’Reilly Velocity conferences are organized to help systems and site reliability engineers, architects, and application developers build and manage performant, distributed, resilient, and highly available websites and applications. But like the O’Reilly Strata conferences, they are also extremely useful venues for CIOs looking to meet developers and acquire critical working knowledge. As a CIO or senior IT executive, you might feel a bit out of place at a Velocity conference, but that’s no reason to avoid them. Sometimes it’s good to step out of your comfort zone, and Velocity is the perfect place for challenging yourself.	Enterprise Technology
The Wall Street Journal D.Live	Nov. 12-14, 2018	Laguna Beach, CA	This exclusive conference held by the Wall Street Journal is invitation-only, but if you get an invite, you’ll be put together with CEOs, investors, founders and other innovators from around the world to discuss technology and the future of the industry. You don’t have to wait to be invited — you can register for an invitation, but it’s not guaranteed.	Leadership
InfoSecurity	Nov. 14-15, 2018	New York	A new conference that started in 2017, InfoSecurity aims to “bring the Boston and East Coast cyber community together” with other cybersecurity professionals around the world. It’s open to all industries, but if past years are any indicator, there will be a focus on healthcare, finance and retail. These are the three industries feeling the most pressure around security.	Security
AWS Re:Invent	Nov. 26-30, 2018	Las Vegas	AWS is huge in the business world — Amazon’s cloud service is home to a number of large, well-known tech companies that rely on the cloud provider to host software and other services. AWS Re: Invent is Amazon’s opportunity to update IT and business leaders on the latest features and services the company plans to add to it’s cloud service.	Cloud
Gartner Application Strategies & Solutions Summit	Nov. 27-29, 2018	Las Vegas	The Gartner Application Strategies & Solutions Summit will feature a comprehensive track set featuring the latest research on application strategies for infrastructure. The summit will also include discussions around architecture and development, as well as how to leverage the customer experience, integration and designing the digital workplace. Summit attendees can learn how to build application organization with the agility and the flexibility to support today’s digital business demands.	Leadership
HPE Discover 2018	Nov. 27-29, 2018	Madrid	HPE Discover focuses on the latest innovations in enterprise technology — it’s host to business and IT professionals. You’ll get a chance to have hands-on time with on HP products and technology as well as face-time with HPE Pointnext leadership. It’s also a great networking event, with a number of sponsors and vendors who will be there to showcase what they’re working on.	Enterprise Technology
AI World Conference & Expo	Dec. 3-5, 2018	Boston	AI World Conference and Expo is focused on the state of the practice of artificial intelligence in the enterprise. Now in our third year, the 3-day conference and expo are designed for business and technology executives who want to learn about innovative implementations of AI in the enterprise. Enterprise organizations face conflicting priorities. Where do they turn to cut through the hype and determine how to prioritize AI strategies and technologies for their business? AI World is organized around this singular goal, enabling business leaders to learn how to use AI to build a competitive advantage, drive new business models and opportunities, reduce operational costs and accelerate your innovation efforts.	Artificial Intelligence
* CIO Perspectives	Dec. 5, 2018	Houston	CIO Perspectives Forum, this is the ultimate professional networking event. Loaded with rich content, conversation, and the exchanging of ideas, these regionally focused one-day executive events have been specifically designed for senior IT leaders from mid- to large-sized organizations. CIO Perspective Forum attendees will spend the day sharing management insights and experiences with other senior IT leaders CIOs, VPs and Directors of IT.	Leadership
Raleigh CIO Forum	Dec. 5-6, 2018	Durham, N.C.	Launched in 1968, the Society for Information Management (SIM) is unquestionably the most venerable and respected of the many organizations catering to career-minded IT leaders and executives. Its meetings regularly attract some of the most senior and prestigious CIOs in the United States. You don’t attend SIM events for their glitz. Rather, you attend because you are surrounded by colleagues who take their roles as IT leaders seriously and who aren’t afraid to take contrarian positions on the latest technology trends. A low-key conference for IT professionals, produced in partnership with the local SIM chapter, this forum provides the usual blend of presentations, panels, and breakout sessions with plenty of opportunities for peer-to-peer networking.	Leadership
IBM Interconnect	February 12-15, 2019	San Francisco, CA	IBM InterConnect is a conference that focuses on cloud and mobile solutions, security, AI, machine learning and advanced analytics. It’s designed to help you build a “truly cognitive, customer-driven digital enterprise.”	Cloud
* AGENDA19	March 18-20, 2019	Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.	AGENDA is unlike any other conference. It’s immersive, interactive and focused on giving you and your colleagues the practical tools to lead change for the year ahead. In between sessions with our roster of carefully curated speakers and workshop leaders, you’ll network with top digital achievers and rising technology leaders. You’ll take home strategies to drive further digital innovation with measurable business results. This is a IDG hosted event.	Leadership
Adobe Summit	March 24-28, 2019	Las Vegas	Adobe Summit 2019 will deliver all the valuable insights, tools, and techniques to help you keep your customers engaged and driving brand loyalty and growth. Adobe understands that the next wave of business transformation is all about the experience. Adobe Summit attendees will learn how to deliver amazing customer experiences by leveraging the latest tools and technologies to build proper campaigns, manage and personalize advertising and emails, and all while gaining the deep data insights you need to be successful.	Digital Marketing
* CSO50 Conference & Awards	April 8-10, 2019	Scottsdale, AZ	IDG once again delivers the CSO50 Conference + Awards event. Come and explore the latest and ever-changing business risk landscape along with 200+ other security decision-makers. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore how enterprise technologies are rapidly advancing, exposing new threats and how to proactively locate and deploy the latest innovative solutions to help mitigate those threats. Join industry experts and pears alike for an interactive, engaging and world-class networking opportunity as attendees actively seek out more information on security solutions and best practices. And don’t forget to help CSO honor those 50 organizations whose security projects and initiatives have delivered outstanding business value and thought leadership at the CSO50 2018 Awards ceremony.	Security
Google Cloud Next	April 9-11, 2019	San Francisco, CA	Google is another large-scale cloud provider for organizations and Google Cloud Next is where the company announces all the latest updates to the Google Cloud Platform. The conference will offer educational, networking and hands-on opportunities for attendees. You’ll get to hear all the latest advancements from Google’s cloud service, while networking with over 10,000 professionals in the industry.	Cloud
Industry The Product Conference	April 15-17, 2019	Dublin	Industry is a conference designed for product managers, VP’s of Product, CPO’s and other “product people” who build, launch, and scale world-class products. It’s a two day event with talks from some of the world’s best product leaders, with plenty of time to mingle, network, and collaborate with your peers and industry experts.	Product Management
HardwareCon	April 17-18, 2019	San Jose	Now in its 5th year, HardwareCon’s 2019 theme will be “Connecting AI, Machine Learning and Data through Hardware.” Hardware is an absolute necessity to achieve the full capabilities of AI, IoT and Machine Learning. It fuels everything from chips to robotics. The industry is on the cusp of disrupting a number of technology platforms and markets, and HardwareCon is connecting these dots.	Hardware
Dell Technologies/World	April 29-May 2, 2019	Las Vegas, NV	Dell EMC World 2018 will be the technology organizations first time its entire family of brands will be all in one place, at one conference. Dell EMC World 2019 attendees will have the opportunity to meet the experts who are making the future digital transformation become a reality. Join over 12k of your fellow IT practitioners and business leaders discover the products, strategies and insights you’ll need to transform your business, drive IT innovation, enhance workforce mobility, and reduce risk in the digital era.	Digital Strategy
MIT Sloan CIO Symposium	May 22, 2019	Cambridge, MA	MIT’s one day conference brings together CEOs, CIOs and senior IT executives to network alongside academic thought leaders, peers and IT vendors. The conference will take place on the MIT campus, but similar to past years, you will be able to watch sessions online.	Leadership
Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2019	June 3-6, 2019	Toronto, Canada	The Gartner Symposium/ITxpo will focus on IT leadership and executive leadership in technology. It’s designed for CIOs as well as leaders in applications, data analytics, and security and risk. Join us to explore the strategic trends and technologies that are driving digital transformation and shaping the future of IT and business. Through a mix of Gartner analysts, industry experts and cutting-edge solution providers, you’ll uncover innovative ways to approach challenges, make decisions with confidence and become an even more effective leader.	Leadership
Cisco Live	June 9-13, 2019	San Diego	Cisco Live is a large event that attracts over 20,000 attendees, with another 250,000 attendees who participate online. The conference looks at all the latest industry news, innovation, products and services coming from Cisco in the next year. Attendees will take part in executive presentations and panels on all the latest trends in technology.	Enterprise Technology
IFA 2018	Sept. 6-11, 2019	Berlin, Germany	The IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany runs for six days and is known for showcasing some of the latest innovation in consumer electronics and appliances. Devices are unveiled from some of the biggest tech companies in the world and it’s a cornerstone of technological innovation.	Consumer Electronics