14 Tech Conventions You Should Attend in 2014

The world of technology is constantly morphing, which makes staying up-to-date in your field a difficult task. IT and tech events, in general, are a great way to stay on top of cutting-edge technology, to learn new skills, as well as interact and share with people who have similar interests and goals. They can help you increase your knowledge, your professional network and your brand. To help you plan your travel, the team at CIO.com has put together this list of the hottest tech events of 2014.

Not seeing your favorite conference here? This list is not all inclusive. We’d love to hear what you think the hottest upcoming IT and tech events are. Please leave your feedback in our Comments section.

This Monday kicked off Mobile World Congress 2014. The conference held each February in Barcelona, Spain ,is one of the largest gatherings of the mobile industry. This year’s event showcases the newest in mobile technology from tech giants like Samsung, Lenovo and Acer to name a few. The event boasts 60,000-70,000 attendees from more than 200 different countries.

If your company does business on the Web, then SMX should be on your radar. Today’s generation grew up in a world that always had Google. That combined with the fact that most users don’t get past the first page of search engine results highlights how important SEO and search engine marketing have become, and it doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.

SMX is geared towards search engine and Internet marketing professionals. Shows are held on the West Coast and East Coast — SMX West and SME East, respectively. Editor in Chief Danny Sullivan and the Search Engine Land team work to make this a compelling event that always creates a buzz in the SEO and digital marketing worlds. Topics range from SEO, paid search advertising (PPC), social media marketing, mobile search and other Web marketing topics.

Interop showcases the latest technologies and advancements in mobility, cloud, networking, virtualization, data centers and more. It has been going on for more than 28 years and has seen the IT industry transition time and again. Topics such as BYOD, enterprise mobility, virtualization, security and, of course, the future of IT management are all covered. The key theme, as the name implies, is interoperability, which is why a majority of the solutions and exhibits are based on industry standards, allowing attendees to see interoperability in action.

According to IDC research, revenue for public and private cloud servers will increase at an annual growth rate of 16.6 percent, generating $11 billion in 2016. Is your organization ready for the transition? If you are trying to wrap your arms around the world of cloud computing, this show might be worth attending.

Event organizers are taking a different tack this year by incorporating big data into the show. Cloud and big data solutions as well sessions will be side-by-side at Cloud Expo. Attendees should get a good feeling for what’s working in the industry and what’s coming next.

TechWeek began in 2011 in Chicago. The goal, according to event organizers was to, “enable the innovation ecosystem in Chicago’s emerging tech scene by bringing in entrepreneurs, tech visionaries and thought leaders from around the world for one week.”

This start-up-centric conference, like SXSW, offers prequalified startups the opportunity to compete for cash and sponsor-donated gifts. The top five winners in each competition get to pitch a judging panel consisting of select venture capitalists and investors. Of course, all the typical conference items are there: speakers, sessions and workshops. There is also a hiring fair as well as the dev, finance and fashion tech summits.