After the coronavirus outbreak recently forced Microsoft to transform its annual Build developer conference to an online event, the company announced yesterday that it was doing the same for its Inspire Partner event. Inspire 2020 was set to happen in Las Vegas on July 19-23, but it’s not clear yet if Microsoft will now stick with these dates.
Inspire 2020 goes digital! Stay tuned for updates as we prioritize global health and safety. https://t.co/joZufaRPEl
— Brian Levenson (@brian_levenson) March 24, 2020
“The safety of our community is a top priority. In light of health safety recommendations from public health authorities, we will not be holding Microsoft Inspire 2020 as an in-person event. We are exploring alternative ways to bring our partner community together to connect and learn,” the company said yesterday.
So far, the coronavirus outbreak has led to the cancellation of several high-profile conferences, starting with Mobile World Congress last month. Apple also chose to switch to a digital format for its WWDC developer event in June, while Google cancelled its annual I/O conference in May. E3 2020 in Los Angeles has also been cancelled in June, while the Computex annual trade show in Taiwan, initially scheduled between June 2 and June 6, has been delayed until September.
Microsoft still has another in-person event in September with Ignite, which will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana this year. However, the company’s plans may well change if the news about the Covid-19 outbreak don’t get any better in the coming weeks.
