Security News > 2020 > April > Is the future of information security and tech conferences virtual?

While RSA Conference USA - the largest information security conference in the world - managed to take place mere weeks before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, European countries started closing borders and airlines started suspending routes and grounding planes, most infosec and tech events scheduled to take place after it were doomed.

"We have found that immersive, live virtual event platforms, offer the opportunity for interacting with exhibitors, solution providers and peer-to-peer networking. Surprisingly, with respect to otherwise introverted attendees, we've found they're more likely to reach out for networking than at a physical event. While the 'happy hour' might not be quite the same, virtual event platforms have thought through almost every facet of the physical event experience."

"Virtual events will never have the same impact as far as connecting people, whether for community building, or for sales and support. Virtual events also don't have the social bonds that in-person events have," he opined.

"We believe that global tech events are going to be permanently changed because of COVID-19. We were already seeing a trend towards larger user events for specific tools or platforms, instead of conferences that represented the full ecosystem within a technology practice area," she told Help Net Security.

"Within 10 days of cancelling our Strata Data & AI conference, we had recreated it as a two-day virtual event through our learning platform and had 4,600 registered attendees. That in itself is a huge benefit because rather than planning an event a year out to secure venue space and give speakers time to travel, we can produce more nimble, timely and relevant events. The audience can register with little lead time because there's no need to clear their calendars for a week, organize time away from the office and families, and book travel."

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