Over the past 11 years, the Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) has grown from a small user group event focused on systems management and managing PCs, to a large and passionate gathering of the world’s best and brightest IT Pros.
Now it’s time to look ahead to the next step for our industry and this community.
Starting this year we are merging MMS with TechEd.
MMS was once a small sub-set of content covered at TechEd, but the role of management in key trends like the Consumerization of IT and the move to the cloud have dramatically expanded what IT Professionals need to know. These expanded (and ever-expanding) needs have broadened the requisite subject matter covered at each MMS and, in fact, it has become so broad that the tracks at MMS are now very similar to what’s covered at TechEd. Our belief is that by combining the events we can substantively improve and expand the attendee experience.
Considering how important MMS has become over the years, it is probably obvious that this decision was not made lightly. The permanent merging of these events is not based on a valuation of one event over the other, and I can confirm that it is not a cost-cutting measure. Rather, this change has been made solely with the best interests of our community in mind.
The objective is simple: Provide attendees a better opportunity for knowledge gathering and technical growth. By drawing together a larger community to this combined event, every attendee will have a dramatically wider range of experts and luminaries (both from the industry and within Microsoft) to learn from and engage.
TechEd 2014 will be your single best source for the latest news, trends, resources and deep technical education. Also, the System Center team is already preparing to teach the deep 300- and 400-level content you’ve come to expect at MMS. There will also be expanded Early Bird pricing options, dedicated Management Meet & Geek opportunities, dedicated Management Instructor-Led Labs and Hands-on Labs, structured and unstructured networking opportunities tuned to the Management community and broader communities, and other unique MMS experiences.
This is a big transition, and I understand and respect the concerns that accompany this type of strategic move. The content and operational experts behind both events are already working together to ensure that this new event surpasses what you’ve come to expect from TechEd while delivering everything you require from MMS.
It’s true that TechEd is a massive event, and its scale will accommodate the MMS community in addition to adding great content of its own. I can promise you that MMS content, experts, and community will be alive and well in this new format within TechEd (see Venn diagram below).
The next step is to mark your calendars for May 12-15, 2014 for TechEd 2014 in Houston, Texas. Registration opens on November 5, 2013, and if you register by December 31, 2013, you’ll get the aforementioned early bird pricing.
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I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in Houston.