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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.
ITExpo
When: Feb. 10-12, 2026
Where: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Cost: $1799, all-expo pass.
ITExpo consists of eight co-located events covering various technology areas: ITExpo; Enterprise Cybersecurity Expo; MSP Expo; Generative AI Expo; Enterprise Communications Summit; Future of CX Expo; AI Agent Event; AIoT World Expo; ITAD Connect.
Conference speakers include Prasad Sundaramoorthy -- senior engineering manager, Nordstrom; Arun Rajamandrapu – solution architect, General Motors; Aarohi Tripathi – senior data engineer, CVS Health.
Extras: opening night party, happy hours, startup pitch event.
Register for ITExpo here.
GreenBiz
When: Feb. 17-19, 2026
Where: Phoenix
Cost: $4,295, all access-pass.
Topics include decarbonization; geopolitics; diversifying renewable energy; supply chain sustainability; AI.
Conference speakers include Alexander Habib -- vice president sustainability and engagement, L’Oréal Group; Allison Lin -- global vice president of healthy planet and chief circularity officer, Mars, Inc; Ami Vitale -- photojournalist, National Geographic; Asheen Phansey -- director of sustainability; PagerDuty; Caitlin Leibert -- global head of sustainability, Amazon Worldwide Grocery.
Extras: opening reception, sunrise desert run, speed mentoring, evening reception, roundtable lunches.
Register for GreenBiz here.
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum -- West
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.
Nvidia GTC AI Conference
When: March 16-19, 2026
Where: San Jose, Calif.
Cost: Conference access, $2,525; exhibits access only, $930.
Topics include the next wave of AI -- including AI factories, reasoning AI, physical AI, agentic AI and AI inference.
Keynote from Jensen Huang -- founder and CEO of Nvidia. Full lineup to be announced.
Extras: networking, training, certifications and developer hackathons.
Register for the Nvidia GTC AI Conference here.
Gartner CIO Leadership Forum 2026 -- East
When: March 30-31, 2026
Where: Hollywood, Fla.
Cost: $4,900, standard; $3,875, public sector.
Topics covered include leadership; AI ROI; operational and business resilience; emerging technologies; workplace culture; and workforce strategy.
Conference speakers include Mandi Bishop -- vice president and analyst, Gartner; Gene Alvarez -- vice president and analyst, Gartner; Brander Germer -- senior director and analyst, Gartner; and Christie Struckman -- vice president and analyst, Gartner.
Extras: one-on-one meetings with Gartner analysts, roundtables, workshops and sunrise yoga.
Register for Gartner CIO Leadership Forum 2026 -- East here.
HumanX
When: April 6-9, 2026
Where: San Francisco
Cost: $2,650, all-access.
Topics covered include AI leadership; AI ROI; AI transformation; CIO-, CFO- and COO-specific sessions.
Speakers include Matt Garman -- CEO, AWS; Katrin Lehman -- CIO, Mercedes-Benz; Ali Ghodsi -- CEO and co-founder, Databricks; Andrew Ng -- founder, DeepLearning.AI; and Adam Evans -- executive vice president and general manager, Salesforce AI.
Register for HumanX here.
IEEE SusTech 2026
When: April 19-22, 2026
Where: Santa Ana, Calif.
Cost: $630 for non-IEEE members, $545 for IEEE members.
Topics include climate sustainability; the circular economy; food politics; sustainability standards.
Conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Extras: opening reception, evening reception.
Register for IEEE SusTech 2026 here.
Google Cloud Next
When: April 22-24, 2026
Where: Las Vegas
Cost: $2,299.
Topics covered include AI and cloud technology; application development; cloud and data security; and infrastructure modernization.
Speakers include Thomas Kurian -- CEO, Google Cloud; Hayete Gallot -- president, customer experience, Google Cloud; Matt Renner -- president, chief revenue officer, Google Cloud; and Sandra Joyce -- vice president, Google Threat Intelligence Group, Google Cloud.
Find out more about how to register for Google Cloud Next here.
Red Hat Summit 2026
When: May 11-14, 2026
Where: Atlanta, Ga.
Cost: $1,999.
Agenda and conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Extras: opening reception, evening reception.
Register for Red Hat Summit 2026 here.
CIO Summit 2026 New York
When: May 14, 2026
Where: New York City
Cost: Free.
Topics covered include CIO strategy; CIO risk; CIO growth; technical debt strategy; and building digital-ready teams.
Conference speakers include Meredith Whalen -- chief research and data officer, IDC.
Extras: networking breakfast, networking lunch, and interactive roundtables.
Save the date for CIO Summit 2026 New York here.
AI and Big Data Expo North America
When: May 18-19, 2026
Where: San Jose, Calif.
Cost: Free to attend free sessions; $699 to attend free and paid sessions.
Topics include AI strategy; enterprise transformation; autonomous intelligence; enterprise AI ROI; the future of AI; AI and developers.
Speakers include Franziska Bell -- chief AI, data and analytics officer, Ford Motor Co.; Lutz Beck -- CIO, Daimler Truck North America; Rahul Priyadarshi -- chief architect, VISA; Nitin Kumar -- director of data science and GenAI, Marriott International; Saima Shafiq -- senior vice president, head of AI enablement, US Bank; Ed Clark -- CIO, California State University.
Extras: learning hubs, startup zone, networking drinks.
Register for AI and Big Data Expo North America here.
MIT Sloan CIO Symposium
When: May 19, 2026
Where: Cambridge, Mass.
Cost: TBA.
Agenda and conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Find out more about MIT Sloan CIO Symposium here.
FinOps X 2026
When: June 8-11, 2026
Where: San Diego, Calif.
Cost: From $499.
Agenda and conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Register for FinOps Ex 2026 and here.
American CIO and Cybersecurity Summit
When: June 9-10, 2026
Where: San Francisco
Topics covered include cybersecurity, AI; digital transformation; and data management.
Conference speakers include AJ Debole -- field CISO, Oracle; Lee Parrish -- CISO, Newell Brands; Roy Luongo -- CISO, U.S. Secret Service; and Jennifer Zmuda -- CIO, UnitedHealth Group.
Register for American CIO and Cybersecurity Summit here.
Info-Tech Live 2026
When: June 9-11, 2026
Where: Las Vegas
Cost: $4,675.
Topics covered include AI; agentic AI; workflows; HR technologies; marketing technologies.
Speakers include Antonia Donaldson -- director analyst, Gartner; Brian Andersen -- senior director, Gartner; Viktoria Boyle -- vice president, Gartner; Elliott Long -- director, Gartner.
Extras: workshops, analyst one-on-ones, industry roundtables, peer networking sessions.
Register for Info-Tech Live here.
Gartner Enterprise Risk, Audit and Compliance Conference 2026
When: Sept. 15-16, 2026
Where: Grapevine, Texas.
Cost: $4,350.
Topics include third-party risk management; business risk ownership; emerging risk landscape; employee engagement and compliance.
Speakers include Antonia Donaldson -- director analyst, Gartner; Brian Andersen -- senior director, Gartner; Viktoria Boyle -- vice president, Gartner; Elliott Long -- director, Gartner.
Extras: Gartner expert one-on-one briefings, ask the expert sessions, workshops, and social events.
Register for Gartner Enterprise Risk, Audit and Compliance Conference 2026 here.
Dreamforce
When: Sept. 15-17, 2026
Where: San Francisco
Cost: TBA
Topics covered include agentic AI development with Agentforce; AI development for the contact center, customer experience and field service management; Data Cloud; and Tableau analytics and insights.
Conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Save the date for Dreamforce here.
Inbound 2026
When: Sept. 16-18, 2026
Where: Boston
Cost: $1,599.
Agenda and conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Register for Inbound 2026 here.
InfoSec World
When: Oct. 12-14, 2026
Where: Kissimmee, Fla.
Cost: $3,395, early bird; $4,195, standard.
Topics covered include AI regulation, bad actors, AI and the c-suite, AI security threats, and AI privacy and security.
Conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Register for InfoSec World here.
Gartner IT Symposium/Expo
When: Oct. 19-22, 2026
Where: Orlando, Fla.
Cost: $8,200, 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 have not yet been announced.
Find out more about Gartner IT Symposium/Expo here.
Securing New Ground
When: Oct. 20-21, 2026
Where: New York City
Cost: TBA
Agenda and conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Extras: networking breaks and receptions.
Find out more about Securing New Ground here.
Gartner HR Symposium/Expo
When: Oct. 26-28, 2026
Where: Orlando, Fla.
Cost: $4,875, early bird; $5,475, standard; $4,440, 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 have not yet been announced.
Extras: networking receptions.
Register for Gartner HR Symposium/Expo here.
Oracle AI World
When: Oct. 26-29, 2026
Where: Las Vegas
Cost: TBA
Topics covered at this event include Oracle vision and strategy, AI development in Oracle applications, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure development.
Conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Extras: networking breaks and receptions.
Find out more about Oracle AI World here.
The Studio
When: Oct. 26-28, 2026
Where: TBA
Cost: free, but via approved application only.
Agenda and conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Apply to attend The Studio here.
ICMI Contact Center Expo
When: Oct. 26-29, 2026
Where: Orlando, Fla.
Cost: TBA
This is a contact center-focused event, with practitioner-led case studies and tours of contact centers. Agenda and conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Find out more about ICMI Contact Center Expo here.
GitHub Universe
When: Oct. 28-29, 2026
Where: San Francisco
Cost: TBA
Agenda and conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Sign up to find out when registration opens for GitHub Universe here.
Microsoft Ignite
When: Nov. 17-20, 2026
Where: San Francisco
Cost: TBA
Agenda and conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Find out more about Microsoft Ignite here.
AWS Re:Invent
When: Nov. 30-Dec. 4, 2026
Where: Las Vegas
Cost: TBA
Topics covered include AWS cloud innovation strategy and roadmap; AWS cloud architecture; and AWS AI tools and agents.
Conference speakers have not yet been announced.
Subscribe to updates for AWS Re:Invent here.
