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Strategic IT outlook: Tech conferences and events calendar
Tech conferences are a vital way for CIOs and IT leaders to keep abreast of trends and make real-life connections in a fast-changing business climate.
In today's climate of uncertainty and rapidly evolving technologies, the cost for CIOs of falling behind is higher than ever.
Technology industry conferences and events offer the best opportunities for CIOs to stay ahead of the curve and gain a deeper understanding of how to align emerging innovations with business value.
While there's a wealth of technical information you can gather at a quality technology conference, there are other good reasons to attend. Conferences provide opportunities to engage directly with peers, industry experts, potential vendors and other technology and business leaders to discuss similar challenges, build best practices and compare strategies.
Here are some conferences and events that CIOs will want to put on their calendars.
If you have a tech conference or event that you would like to appear in this calendar, email [email protected]. Check in frequently for conference calendar updates.
Securing New Ground
When: Oct. 8-9, 2025
Where: New York City
Cost: $1,995, standard.
Topics covered include security megatrends, private equity’s impact on the industry, and the economics and trends shaping the CISO landscape.
Conference speakers include Ewa Pigna -- chief technology officer at Honeywell; Cheryl Steele -- chief security officer at Starbucks; Mark T. Esper -- former U.S. Secretary of Defense; and Michael Normyle -- U.S. economist at Nasdaq.
Extras: networking breaks and receptions.
Register for Securing New Ground here.
Oracle AI World
When: Oct. 13-16, 2025
Where: Las Vegas
Cost: $2,399, general attendee; $1,799, group pass; $1,399, public sector.
Topics covered at this event include Oracle vision and strategy, AI development in Oracle applications, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure development.
Conference speakers include Larry Ellison -- co-founder of Oracle; Steve Miranda -- executive vice president of application development at Oracle; and Juan Louiza -- vice president of Oracle database technologies.
Extras: party featuring Def Leppard.
Register for Oracle AI World here.
Dreamforce
When: Oct. 14-16, 2025
Where: San Francisco
Cost: $2,299, full conference.
Topics covered include agentic AI development with Agentforce; AI development for the contact center, customer experience, field service management; Data Cloud and Tableau analytics and insights.
Conference speakers include Marc Benioff -- Salesforce CEO; Sundar Pichai -- CEO at Alphabet/Google; and Adam Evans -- executive vice president and general manager of Salesforce AI Platform.
Extras: concerts with Metallica and Benson Boone.
Register for Dreamforce here.
Gartner IT Symposium/Expo
When: Oct. 20-23, 2025
Where: Orlando, Fla.
Cost: $7,925, standard; $5,925, public sector.
Topics covered include top technology trends for 2026, overcoming resistance and building enthusiasm for AI adoption, and leading CIOs through uncertainty.
Conference speakers include Marc Benioff -- Salesforce CEO; Liana Bailey -- CIO, State of California; and Leigh-Ann Russell -- CIO and global head of engineering, Bank of New York Mellon.
Extras: special event at Magic Kingdom Park.
Register for Gartner IT Symposium/Expo here.
Gartner HR Symposium/Expo
When: Oct. 27-29, 2025
Where: Orlando, Fla.
Cost: $4,975, standard; $4,125, public sector.
Topics covered include HR's new domain in the AI era, navigating the multi-generational workplace and building a growth-ready workforce in the AI era.
Conference speakers include Katie Sutherland – director, advisory at Gartner; Harsh Kundulli – vice president and analyst at Gartner; and Lehua Stonebreaker -- senior vice president of people at SmartRecruiters.
Extras: networking receptions.
Register for Gartner HR Symposium/Expo here.
InfoSec World
When: Oct. 27-29, 2025
Where: Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Cost: $4,195, standard.
Topics covered include the "Big Shift" and cybersecurity careers, AI security threats and the rise of cybercrime, and AI privacy and security.
Conference speakers include Ben Rothke -- senior information security manager at Experian; Sean Flynn -- director of security technology and strategy at Akamai; and David Foote -- co-founder, chief analyst and research officer at Foote Partners LLC.
Extras: networking reception; discounted passes for Walt Disney World parks.
Register for InfoSec World here.
The Studio Nashville
When: Oct. 27-29, 2025
Where: Nashville, Tenn.
Cost: free, but via approved application only.
Topics on the agenda include AI, CIO priorities, workplace culture, resilience, geopolitics, and building customer loyalty.
Conference speakers include Pavan Pidugu -- CIO at U.S. Department of Transportation; Datta Junnarkar -- CIO at Boeing; Douglas York -- deputy CIO & chief of staff at Nissan Motor Corp.; Mark Bramwell -- CDIO at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford; and Rohit Jain -- CIO at Harvard Business School, Association of Northern California.
Extras: The Studio launch party at Category 10, country singer Luke Combs’ rooftop bar; Jack Daniel’s experience; lunch at Miss Mary Bobo’s in Lynchburg, Tenn.
Apply to attend The Studio Nashville here.
ICMI Contact Center Expo
When: Oct. 27-30, 2025
Where: Orlando, Fla.
Cost: $2,499-$4,199
This is a contact center-focused event, with practitioner-led case studies and tours of contact centers -- including Disney and Universal. Topics include AI integration, workforce optimization and customer experience excellence.
Conference speakers include Juanita Coley -- CEO at Solid Rock Consulting; Michelle Dipietro -- director of contact center operations at Arbella Insurance Group; and Hardy Myers -- vice president of global partnerships at NiCE Cognigy.
Extras: global awards party. Premier pass includes half-day site tours.
Register for the ICMI Contact Center Expo here.
GitHub Universe
When: Oct. 28-29, 2025
Where: San Francisco
Cost: $1,499, general admission; free, virtual pass.
Topics covered include using AI-powered tools to accelerate software development, managing multiple organizations without multiplying the pain and how to vibe code responsibly.
Conference speakers include Tobias Ahlin -- principal product designer at GitHub; Cody De Arkland -- senior director of developer experience at Sentry; and Andrew Lau -- co-founder and CEO at Jellyfish.
Extras: board games and tech trivia sessions.
Register for GitHub Universe here.
Forrester Technology and Innovation Summit North America
When: Nov. 2-5, 2025
Where: Austin, Texas
Cost: $4,095, standard.
Topics covered include when to customize technology for industry optimization, strategic AI platform acquisition for technology leaders and managing your AI value delivery.
Conference speakers include Venkat Achanta -- chief technology data and analytics officer at TransUnion; Michael Demissie -- head of applied AI and practice at BNY; and Sandra Loughlin -- chief learning scientist at EPAM.
Extras: networking receptions and certifications.
Register for Forrester Technology and Data Strategy North America here.
Forrester Security and Risk Summit
When: Nov. 5-7, 2025
Where: Austin, Texas
Cost: $3,495, standard.
Topics covered include AI, application security, emerging technology, enterprise risk management, governance, leadership and strategy, networking and privacy and data protection.
Conference speakers include Joe Carroll -- CIO of Citgo Petroleum; Tim Brown -- CISO and vice president of security at SolarWinds; and Deidre Diamond -- founder and CEO of CyberSN.
Extras: certifications.
Register for the Security and Risk Summit here.
Microsoft Ignite
When: Nov. 18-21, 2025
Where: San Francisco
Cost: $2,325 in person; virtual free.
Topics covered include AI and productivity, IT service management and observability with AI, and supply chain intelligence.
Conference speakers include Satya Nadella -- Microsoft CEO; Judson Althoff -- executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Microsoft; and Scott Guthrie -- executive vice president of Cloud and AI Group at Microsoft.
Extras: block party.
Register for Microsoft Ignite here.
AWS Re:Invent
When: Dec. 1-5, 2025
Where: Las Vegas
Cost: $2,099, standard.
Topics covered include AWS cloud innovation strategy and roadmap, AWS cloud architecture, and AWS AI tools and agents.
Conference speakers include Matt Garman -- AWS CEO; Dr. Swami Sivasubramanian -- vice president for agentic AI at AWS; and Dave Brown, vice president of AWS Compute and Machine Learning Services.
Extras: re:Play party.
Register for AWS Re:Invent here.
TechLeader Summit
When: Dec. 3-5, 2025
Where: Clearwater, Fla.
Cost: $3,450, standard.
Topics covered include software engineering management, talent acquisition and training, leadership and AI.
Conference speakers include Pete Behren -- founder and CEO of Agile Leadership Journey; Robert Harris -- founder and CEO of Coded2Lead; and Erica Woods -- director of contractor programs and philanthropy at Apex Systems.
Extras: ticket includes 10 virtual workshop credits.
Register for TechLeader Summit here.
Gartner Identity and Access Management Summit
When: Dec. 8-10, 2025
Where: Grapevine, Texas
Cost: $3,993, standard; $3,425, public sector.
Topics covered include successful privileged access management deployment, workforce identity verification and AI use cases for IAM.
Conference speakers include Jesse Israel -- founder of The Big Quiet; Michael Kelley -- senior director analyst at Gartner; and Jen Easterly -- strategic adviser at Huntress.
Extras: exhibit showcase networking reception.
Register for Gartner Identity and Access Management Summit here.
Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations & Cloud Strategies Conference
When: Dec. 9-11, 2025
Where: Las Vegas
Cost: $4,750, standard; $4,025, public sector.
Topics covered include strategic roadmap for Infrastructure and Operations success, preparing for the next "CrowdStrike Like" incident and key trends in digital employee experience.
Conference speakers include West Richter Jr. -- director of global IT service delivery at Moog; Autumn Stanish -- director and analyst at Gartner; and Dennis Smith -- vice president and analyst at Gartner.
Extras: exhibit showcase networking reception.
Register for Gartner IT Infrastructure, Operations & Cloud Strategies Conference here.
AI Summit New York
When: Dec. 10-11, 2025
Where: New York City
Cost: $2,599, VIP all access; $1,899, delegate; $2,299, solution provider delegate; $55, expo.
Topics covered include building inclusive and impact-driven AI, scaling agentic AI, and structuring AI for measurable impact.
Conference speakers include Artem Fishman -- chief technology officer at Dow Jones; Davood Shansi -- executive director of ML/AI at JP Morgan; and Morgan Vawter -- chief digital information officer at Unilever.
Extras: start-up and investor pitching competition.
Register for AI Summit New York here.
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum
When: Feb. 23-24, 2026
Where: Phoenix
Cost: $4,725, standard.
Topics include scaling AI, culture and change, cybersecurity and risk management, digital business transformation, innovation, executive influence, and strategic planning and execution.
Conference speakers include Brandon Germer -- Gartner senior director and analyst; Mbula Schoen -- Gartner senior director and analyst; and Peter Skyttengarrd -- Gartner vice president and analyst.
Extras: sunrise yoga, meetups and a Southwest soiree.
Register for the Gartner CIO Leadership Forum here.
