Most of us make an annual trek to one or more conferences - here at App Developer Magazine we go to a bunch. The year for us starts off in January at CES in Las Vegas and then it’s a blur for the rest of the year.
One conference that stands out for us is CA World in Las Vegas which will be held on November 16 - 20, 2015 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. It’s hands down one of the top IT conferences in the US. Not just because it’s in Las Vegas (that doesn’t hurt) but because the conference brings in one of the most diverse groups of companies I have ever seen participate in this type of event.
I think one of the reasons for the wide range of participants is that CA has a broad ecosystem of partners they work with in the software industry and these companies bring a ton of folks in to town to talk to participants. You get a diverse group of corporate cultures that are talking shop and services beyond a single ecosystem culture.
The second, and probably most significant, is the range of companies that use CA products and send people to the event who represent really big companies and not so big companies. You’re more than likely to find yourself sitting in a bar stool talking to someone from JPMorgan Chase on one side and a small regional health care provider developer on the other side. Everyone is dealing with the same reality – the “application economy” is impacting every business in fundamental ways.
Of course, you might have figured out that I’ll be there. Not that you’ll especially want to hang out with me, but if its one of the 10 events a year that I drag myself away from the family to go to, then you should get an idea that I am putting my money where my mouth is when I say you’ll find it worth it.
Package that with the fact the conference right in line for this type of event (early registration rates and BOGO are available through September 18) you’ll also find your hotel room will not break the bank. At CES I paid 8 times a regular Vegas rate and was told I was lucky – my accounting office did not feel the same way. With CA World you get great room rates because … who goes to Vegas in November? Wait, we do!