Hottest IT educational experience features largest ever partner pavilion housing record number of Microsoft partners.
Gold Coast, Australia – August 8, 2007 – Microsoft's annual technical education conference, Tech.Ed 2007, opens its doors today at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. More than 2,400 software developers and IT professionals are expected to attend the popular IT event, which has continued to grow in size over the last three years from a base of 1,200 attendees in 2004.
Tech.Ed 2007, which achieved an unprecedented sell out three weeks prior to opening, is the premier event for ICT professionals eager to improve their skills and ‘Make their Mark’ on the future of IT. This year’s event sees an increased number of senior level attendees along with a wider group from large sized organisations. The growing popularity of the event illustrates the value that the IT community places on the quality of training in the emerging technologies that will be featured this year. Key areas of interest for Tech.Ed 2007 include education on Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SharePoint, security and new development tools.
Tech.Ed 2007 kicked off activities on Monday, 6 August with two days of Deep Dive Workshops. The main conference commences today with a keynote address by Mr. Michael Twigg, Production Resources Manager, Animal Logic and associate producer of the Academy Award-winning digitally animated film, Happy Feet.
Core Tech.Ed 2007 activities consist of an intensive three days of learning, networking and practical experience including in-depth analysis of products and technologies through 14 technical tracks and 180 break-out sessions. Through its training program, Tech.Ed provides unparalleled exposure of Microsoft technology to its customers, showing the integrated story of the Microsoft platform while preparing customers for the next wave of technology advances.
As part of Tech.Ed 2007, Microsoft has created the largest ever Partner Pavilion, which will house 45 partners showing off their latest IT products and services. In another first for this year’s event, Tech.Ed 2007 completely sold out of all sponsorship opportunities months before opening, further proof of Tech.Ed’s increased relevance to the industry.
"We are delighted that Tech.Ed sold out so quickly. Over the last few years the event has established itself firmly in the calendars of ICT professionals who want to keep abreast of the latest technologies and keep their skills honed. Business and IT needs are evolving rapidly and our mission is to ensure Tech.Ed goes beyond the mould of traditional IT events to provide a unique experience with relevant solutions for every aspect of an organisation," said Mr. Ben English, Technical Audience Manager, Microsoft Australia.
Training is a major part of Tech.Ed 2007; as such a large focus will be on certification. Microsoft offers the opportunity to sit for industry-recognised certification exams at a discounted rate. Event organisers expect over 200 applicants to leave the event as Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCP).
The major sponsors of the event are gold sponsors EMC, Nortel and Quest Software; and silver sponsors Attachmate, Citrix Systems, Infoplex, Packeteer, Websense, K2 and Compuware Asia Pacific.
For more information, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/australia/teched
About Microsoft Tech•Ed 2007
Tech•Ed, one of Microsoft’s premier developer and IT professional training events, reaches more than 75,000 people worldwide annually, providing attendees with access to technical experts, the latest technical information and hands-on labs to learn the skills they need to build state-of-the-art solutions.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.
For more information please contact:
Cathy Jamieson
PR Manager
Microsoft Australia
Tel: 02 9870 2220 or 0412 177 738
Email: cajamies@microsoft.com
Or
Anne Flanagan
Howorth Communications
Tel: 02 8281 3810 or 0405 082 603
Email: anne@howorth.com.au