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April 29, 2021

Spring Conference Season in Full (Virtual) Swing

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May is traditionally a big month for tech conferences, and 2021 will be no different. The big change, of course, is that companies will be holding their tech conferences virtually.

That’s good news for folks who want to go broad and experience many different conferences, since most of them are free of charge. It’s not as good news for folks who like to go deep into topics and crave the personal interaction that physical conferences can deliver.

In any event, in-person conferences are expected to resume later this year in time for the fall conference season. That means data professionals will have one last go at the virtual events, which have generally improved since COVID-19 devastated the conference circuit a year ago.

Without further adieu, here are the top conferences on Datanami’s event radar for the next few weeks:

USC AI Futures Symposium — May 3-5

The USC Information Sciences Institute is hosting its second AI Futures symposium of the year. The event will focus on “the profound innovations at the intersection of artificial intelligence and data science that are changing our lives,” the organization says. Dozens of speaker from the university are lined up to explore a range of topics, from AI in sustainability to constrained optimization techniques. Interested parities can find more information at www.isi.edu/events/ai-symposium/.

KubeCon and Cloud NativeCon Europe 2021– May 4 – 7

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Cloud developers building with the latest tools will attend this three-day show, which features hundreds of sessions on a range of topics. Registration is free for the keynote and solutions showcase;  an all-access path costs $75. Registration can be had at  events.linuxfoundation.org/kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe/register/.

Gartner Analytics Summit — May 4-6

Gartner’s highly rated Data & Analytics Summit Americas returns to the small screen next week with an eight-track conference that covers many aspects of the data and analytics experience. From building leadership and strategizing for business outcomes, to data governance and AI, attendees can expect to glean lots of wisdom from Gartner’s esteemed analysts. To register for the conference, which is not free, click here.

Dell Technologies World — May 5-6

Dell Technologies will kick off this two-day event on Wednesday, with a keynote by Michael Dell and his team, who will look at the “the role of technology in unlocking the value of our data-centric world and furthering human progress. Bill Nye (the Science Guy) is also scheduled to speak, and Chris Martin (the Cold Play guy) will sing. You can register for the free event here.

QlikWorld Online 2021 — May 10-12

Science guy Bill Nye will be hitting the big data-speaking circuit in May

Qlik kicks off its three-day event with keynotes by CEO Mike Capone and author Malcolm Gladwell. All told, the company will host more than 100 general and breakout sessions. For more information or to register, go to https://www.qlik.com/qlikworld/registration/.

Kafka Summit Europe – May 11

What’s the latest in Apache Kafka? Developers will learn the latest technologies and techniques in stream processing at the European version of the Kafka Summit, which is sponsored by Confluent (the Kafka Summit Americas is scheduled for September 14-15). General admission to the event is $0. More information at www.kafka-summit.org.

IBM Think — May 11-12

IBM has some ideas about how you should be thinking about the hybrid cloud and AI, and it’s hoping to share them with you on May 11 if you’re in the Americas, and on May 12 if you’re in APAC, Japan, or EMEA. You can learn more at www.ibm.com/events/think/.

DataRobot’s AI Experience — May 11-12

DataRobot is hosting a two-day event to help users learn more about its machine learning automation software and other topics in AI. Bill Nye (the Science Guy) is a keynote speaker, along with author Alexis Ohanian. Get more information from aiworldwide.datarobot.com/.

Alteryx Global Inspire — May 18-20

Alteryx is gearing up to host more than 100 sessions on data and analytics topics. CEO Mark Anderson will deliver a keynote, as well as Fareed Zakaria and Hanna Fry of University College London. Providing music will be will.i.am. Registration is at inspire.alteryx.com/.

Google I/O — May 18-20

Google will attract thousands of developers with hundreds of sessions during its three-day conference next month. Data and analytics professionals may be interested in the “What’s New in Machine Learning” session at 9 a.m. PT on May 18. You can register for the free event at https://events.google.com/io

SAS Global Forum — May 18-20

SAS will be hosting the Americas component of its Global Forum from May 18-20, with Asia Pacific and EMEA versions to follow. Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at Wharton, is at the top of the bill along with Ayesha Khanna, CEO of AI company ADDO. Registration for the free event here.

Data + AI Summit — May 24-25

Databricks is hosting its Data + AI Summit (formerly Spark + AI Summit) the fourth week of May. In addition to hearing from folks like Spark creator Matei Zaharia and Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi, attendees can broaden their perspectives with keynotes by data scientist DJ Patil, author Michael Lewis, activist Mala Yousafzai–and yes, Bill Nye (the Science Guy). Register for the free event at databricks.com/dataaisummit/north-america-2021.

VeeamON 2021 — May 25-26

Veeam, a provider of data backup solutions, will be discussing the cutting edge of data protection during a two-day, 30-session event next month. It’s free and you can sign up at www.veeam.com/veeamon.

Ignite Summit — May 25

Fans of the in-memory Apache Ignite framework will be interested to hear about the Ignite Summit, a one-day event sponsored by GridGain Systems, the company behind Ignite. Keynotes will be delivered by Shahir Daya, an IBM distinguished engineer, and Emmanuel Wiesenfeld, a lead developer at BNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB). More info can be had at ignite-summit.org/

TIBCO Analytics Forum — May 25-26

TIBCO Software’s TIBCO Analytics Forum (TAF) has its roots in the Houston Energy Forum (HEF). But now it’s branching  out to analytics professionals in a range of industries, including manufacturing, life sciences, transportation, and retail. Registration, which is $50, can be procured analyticsforum.tibco.com/

 

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