What’s Happening at This Year's TechEd?

There are few conferences in the Microsoft developer calendar that are bigger than TechED, and this year’s event is fast approaching. For 2013, there are actually two conferences; one based in the US (New Orleans, Louisiana, June 3-6) and another in Europe (Madrid, Spain, June 25-28).

If you can’t attend either one of the shows, then you should definitely keep an eye on the Channel9 blog for news and updates from the shows.

Both TechEd North America and TechEd Europe feature a packed schedule, which has just about everything geared towards the technical user - developers, architects, systems people, and others. You can look at the conference websites for exact details on all of the sessions and presentations (there is way too much to detail include in this blog post - which is a great sign!), but here are a few highlights:

Hands-on Labs

Both shows feature a large number of hands-on labs. These are great ways to brush up on your technical and power user skills. This year’s labs include:

• Creating a PerformancePoint Services Dashboard based on a Microsoft SQL Server 2012 BI Semantic Model
• Implementing Transparent Database Encryption
• Introduction to Windows Powershell with Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013

Partner Demos and Solutions Experience

Another great component of the two shows is that they both feature dedicated partner demos and ‘experience’ sessions. This is a great chance to see what the third party channel partner network is up to. If you have an interest in third party dev tools, SharePoint add-ons, or Azure utilities - then this is the place to be. It is a good chance to actually talk to the people behind the products, rather than just read their websites.

The Socials

Social events are also present in both TechEd Europe and TechEd North America, occurring on Tuesday evening in the US and Wednesday in Europe. These are more relaxing than typical sessions and are intended to help attendees unwind at the end of the day. If you’re looking for a great way to socialize in a bit more informal setting this is your venue, and Microsoft generally knows how to put on a great show.

Networking

One of the great things about shows like this is the sheer number of people to meet, talk to, and connect with. If it is your first time, you might find it a little overwhelming, but TechEd is a great place to make useful connections. Take some business cards, plan ahead (check here for the North America schedule builder and the European version - you’ll want to sort out upfront the sessions you want to attend), and if nothing else, you will meet some really great people.

Visit Infragistics at TechEd North America!

Don’t forget that Infragistics will be out in full force at TechEd North America! Even though I won’t be there, we’ve got tons of great new demos to show you, some awesome Acers to give away, and of course, we’re in the running for Attendees’ Pick in the Best of TechEd awards (make sure you vote for us!). For more information about our TechEd presence this year, check out this DevToolsGuy blog.

Wrapping It Up

As always, both TechEd shows promise to be exceptional places to check out the latest and greatest in Microsoft and Microsoft compatible technologies. If you’re looking to be at the cutting edge, don’t miss TechEd this year!