Looking for .NET conferences to attend? You are in luck! There's a lot of options out there. While most good conferences about .NET are arranged by Microsoft themselves, there are some great alternatives spread across both Europe and the US. This list is my attempt to sum up a list of good conferences I have had recommended by friends or have attended during the years.
NDC
NDC or Norwegian Developers Conference is one of the largest .NET conferences in Europe. Launched in Oslo, Norway back in 2008, but now available in London, Sydney and Minnesota as well. Besides the main conferences, there's a NDC Mini in Copenhagen, that I attended and really enjoyed last year.
//build/
Back in 2011, Microsoft merged their PDC and MIX conferences into //build/. Besides a lot of info about .NET, there are always a lot of announcements too. So, if you want to be the first to hear about the new stuff, Build is the place to go.
Microsoft Ignite
Previously known as TechEd, Ignite is one of the oldest Microsoft conferences on the block. While TechEd was arranged all over the world, Ignite only seem to happen in the US. There's a lot of .NET content at Ignite, but the conference also spans other subjects.
Build Stuff
Build Stuff, the large .NET conference in Lithuania, has been gaining a lot of traction the last few years. It's amazing to see the quality of speakers, that the conference is able to attract. Some buddies of mine have attended the conference for a couple of years and speak very highly of going. A nice benefit of going to Lithuania is, that everything is cheaper than the rest of Europe and US. In 2017, Build Stuff introduced a new conference in Mallorca, Spain. Conference, pool and warm weather - what's not to like!
Visual Studio Live
Visual Studio Live is another Microsoft conference available in 7 US cities. The conference doesn't really seem to have gotten the attention it deserves. Looks like a range of good sessions with lots of hands on and workshops.
.NET Conf
.NET Conf is a virtual conference arranged by Microsoft every year. The awesome thing with .NET Conf is, that they partner with user groups and similar throughout the world, to arrange local in-person events like streaming sessions. Everything is free, which makes it a no-brainer to convince your boss.
Techorama
Techorama is one of the new players on the block. That shouldn't keep you from going though. In 5 years, Techorama has grown to more than 1.500 attendees and 150 sessions, spread across 11 tracks. Besides being a good choice for .NET developers, Techorama is held in the beautiful city of Antwerp (Belgium) and from 2018 also in the Netherlands. Maybe combine it with a bit of sightseeing?
Global Azure Bootcamp
Sort of like .NET Conf, but rather than streaming sessions from a virtual conference, Global Azure Bootcamp is a series of events throughout the world about Azure. The local user groups and MVPs arrange the conference and arrange which sessions to host and speakers to invite. Since this is organized 100% by local forces, I cannot recommend your local event or not. Try it next time or even better, ask to join in.
AngleBrackets
Yet another Microsoft conference in the US. Originally founded by Scott Hanselman and friends, after missing the MIX (now //build/) conference. AngleBrackets is like MIX, mostly about web and related technologies. It's one of those conferences I would personally love to attend.
.NET/FRINGE
.NET Fringe is an open source .NET conference located in Portland, Oregon. The awesome thing about Fringe is that it seems to be backed by a lot of cool people in the industry.
Microsoft Connect();
You cannot write a post about Microsoft .NET conferences without mentioning Connect();. It's a virtual conference with a lot of good stuff and announcements. All sessions are available for streaming, so catch a session or two before going to bed.
MVP Summit
You probably haven't heard about the summit if you haven't been a Microsoft MVP or tried to be one. It's the yearly event for all MVP's with a lot of insider information about new and exciting Microsoft technologies. I had one chance to attend (back in 2015), but blew it :)
DotNext
Eastern Europe doesn't only offer Build Stuff. DotNext is a two-day conference happening in Moscow and St. Petersburg (both in Russia) every year. DotNext may not be the largest conference out there, but they still managed to attract speakers like Jon Skeet, Dino Esposito and Mark Seemann in 2018.
TechBash
TechBash is another community driven conference, located in Pennsylvania, US. With only a few years of arranging the conference, it already seems to attract some great speakers and sessions. Besides a 3-day packed schedule, you will be able to enjoy the rest of the Kalahari Resort, including America's largest indoor waterpark. What a great excuse to bring the family.
DevSum
Based in Stockholm, Sweden we find DevSum - The .NET Conference. It's weird how I didn't know about a .NET conference with this history (> 10 years), size (60+ speakers and 600+ participants) and duration (3 days including workshops) before getting a recommendation through this post. This definitely looks like a good choice for .NET peeps.
BASTA!
BASTA! is an all-round conference about Microsoft-technologies, located in Frankfurt, Germany. The nice thing about BASTA!, seems to be the broad range of sessions (everything from DevOps and Agile to JavaScript and HTML5), but still centered around Microsoft and .NET.
SDD
SDD (Software Design & Development) is another broad topic option that doesn't do a lot to tell that it includes Microsoft talks. But with speakers like Jon Skeet, Scott Allen and Jimmy Bogard, .NET and C# is on the menu for sure. Furthermore, the conference is huge, spanning 5 days, more than 80 sessions and 18 all-day workshops. Finally, SDD is a great excuse to experience the awesome city of London.
Progressive .NET
Another London-option for .NET developers is Progressive .NET. 3 days of sessions and tutorials from speakers like Jon Galloway and Julie Lerman. The conference is arranged by Skills Matter (you probably already know them from their training courses) in their CodeNode conference center. How cool of a name for a venue is that!
.NET Day Switzerland
While most conferences span multiple days, .NET Day in Switzerland is a single day only. It probably make it low priority for people not nearby. But if you are in the neighbourhood, .NET Day looks like an interesting option. There's a lot of focus on new topics like ASP.NET Core.
Update Conference
Update is a newly founded conference and the biggest one yet in Prague. I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't notice this conference in time since the schedule looks right up my alley. With three simultaneous tracks, there is something interesting at all times. Finally, would love to revisit Prague. What a beautiful city full of history (ok and beer!).
DevReach
If you are into .NET and JavaScript and you would like a trip to Bulgaria, DevReach could be a good option. The overall themes have switched a bit from last year to this year. Focusing on both .NET and JavaScript is actually a quite clever idea, that I haven't seen done as consistently elsewhere.
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This article first appeared on the elmah.io blog at https://blog.elmah.io/great-dot-net-conferences-to-attend/
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