With 2024 now underway in earnest, it’s time to start thinking about ways to turbocharge your business this year. One easy way to do this is by attending tech industry events, which bring many of the latest and greatest innovations together under one roof.
Look in the rearview mirror at CES this January, where things like the new Wi-Fi 7 standard were revealed alongside major developments in AI, and you start to get the idea.
That’s not all. As highlighted by a study commissioned by Skift, the vast majority of businesses say they can benefit from the networking (82%) and learning (71%) opportunities offered by industry showcases.
With all this in mind, we’ve put together a guide to the best tech conferences, events and shows taking place over the next 12 months, spotlighting those coming up first before giving you the essentials of the biggest ones later in 2024.
Best Tech Conference and Events in 2024: January to June Spotlight
Here are the top industry events businesses should add to their calendar this year. We’ve selected these based on over 10 years experience trudging show floors and events from San Francisco and Las Vegas to Seoul and Taiwan.
January Tech Conferences: CES Still Reigns Supreme
Kicking things off every year, the annual Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES) in Las Vegas is the absolute glitziest tech event around. With more than 4,300 exhibitors and 135,000 attendees, the 2024 edition may be in the books but such is the demand around CES that you should already be thinking about booking for CES 2025.
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Things like hotels and flights only get more expensive as the calendar turns, so with the dates of CES 2025 confirmed as January 7-10, you can get booking. Note that, based on our experience attending previous versions of the show, many announcements will be made before doors open to the public.
With January 7 next year being a Tuesday, you can roughly expect the action – including media and networking events – to get underway at the weekend.
Tickets aren’t yet available, but you can register your interest in CES 2025 to make sure you’re front of the line.
February 2024 Tech Conferences: MWC Steals the Show
Image credit: GSMA / MWC
Following hot on the heels of CES, February’s annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona is the world’s biggest and most influential mobile tech event. For those who find Vegas too in your face, it’s also the ideal conference to attend, as the Catalan setting means the vibes are way more relaxed than they are on the Strip.
At MWC, it’s all about slipping out to one of the open air terraces at the Fira Gran Via for a small beer and plate of luxe Spanish cold cuts, rather than circumnavigating slot machines and overpriced steak houses.
That’s in addition to the jampacked keynote schedule and vibrant show floor. For businesses in particular, there’s lots that’s relevant, with the overarching theme of connectivity meaning areas like VoIP are well served and there are industry-specific programs for manufacturing, fintech, mobile commerce and more.
In case you couldn’t tell, MWC’s something of a personal favorite when it comes to the annual tech extravaganzas, so act fast and get your pass today. MWC 2024 takes place Monday, February 26 to Thursday, February 29 this year. Again, you’ll find plenty on (and might be even be advised) to arrive the weekend before the main show opens.
March 2024 Tech Conferences: SXSW and London Tech Show
In the US, SXSW in Austin is where the action is this March. From Friday, March 8 to Saturday, March 16, the already buzzy Texan city is taken over by the cultural phenomenon that is SXSW.
A totally unique mix of music, film, the arts, and tech, SXSW (or South by Southwest, for the uninitiated) has spawned dozens of imitations but is yet to be matched, let alone bettered.
To give you an idea of the mix that’s on offer, this year’s keynotes range from The Black Keys to AMD’s CEO Dr Lisa T Su. Yes, really. It’s on our bucket list and should be on yours, too, so register yourself today.
For something more lowkey and strictly B2B focused, the London Tech Show takes place in the UK capital on March 6-7. As an event, it’s more of an overall umbrella and is “co-located” at the city’s ExCeL Centre with Cloud Expo Europe, Big Data & Ai World, Data Centre World, Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, and more.
Perhaps best of all, it’s free to attend.
April 2024 Tech Conferences: Google Cloud Next and Running Remote
If you’re anything like us, chances are at least part of your business relies on Google and its products. That’s why Google’s Cloud Next ’24 conference has practically universal appeal, as so many of us use the web giant’s technology to complete our day-to-day jobs – software like Google Meet being just one example.
Taking place April 9-11 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, it promises three days worth of keynotes, breakout sessions, and deep dives covering everything from IT security issues to generative AI. As such, we’re excited to see what’s next for Google Bard this year, as it’s already one of the best AI chatbots.
Outside of that, a relatively new conference called Running Remote has us intrigued this April.
As you may know, we’re big advocates or remote and flexible working here at Tech.co Towers. Whether or not you’ve find the fully remote job of your dreams, chances are you could benefit from the event, which takes place April 22-24 in Lisbon.
It’s a lovely time of year to visit the Portuguese capital, which is already a favorite among startups and digital nomads for its favorable government policies and affordable living. Billing itself as the world’s “premier conference” for remote-first and hybrid teams, it’s the one you’re probably most likely to bump into us at, so grab yourself a ticket.
Alternatively (or as well), you can apply for its “workation” program, which is an invite-only affair that can be roughly described as a breakout residential leadership summit. Take a look for yourself and pray to both the old gods and the new, as we’d imagine demand for the still-vacant places will be extremely high.
May 2024 Tech Conferences: Google I/O (TBC), RSA Conference and Dublin Tech Summit
As spring blooms in full, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that May is typically the month when Google holds its annual I/O developer conference. Because it’s almost always accompanied by some new flagship hardware, specifics of the event are usually kept under wraps until much closer to the time. However, I/O 2023 was held on May 10, to give you an idea. The official I/O website is currently still promoting 2023 highlights, but that’s where to look for the latest info.
In terms of confirmed May 2024 tech conferences, look no further than RSA 2024 in San Francisco, which takes place May 6-9. It’s one of the world’s most important cybersecurity events and this year is themed around: “The Art of Possible.”
Tickets aren’t cheap but discounted pricing is currently on offer. Assuming you can convince your boss to let you register, get ready for an action-packed three days in sunny San Fran. Last year, RSA welcomed more than 40,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors, featuring no less than 650 speakers across 400 different keynotes.
Lastly, the Dublin Tech Summit takes place May 29-30 and features speakers from big name companies like Microsoft, Logitech, Oculus, Pinterest and many more among its keynote line-up. Tickets are at the relatively affordable end of the spectrum at a few hundred bucks and there’s a dedicated track for startups.
June 2024 Tech Conferences: London Tech Week and WWDC (TBC)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, summer is when the tech conference calendar really starts filling up. In June this year, that’s going to be somewhat inevitably headlined by Apple’s WWDC, which is the iPad maker’s annual developer shindig.
The dates and final details of WWDC 2024 are still to be confirmed, but last year’s June 5-9 window may well prove instructive. Things normally get under way the first day with a blockbuster keynote, when Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals the newest versions of it software – this year, iOS 18 and macOS 15.
It’s also where we might finally see if the company’s Vision Pro headset is anything more than an overpriced bit of bandwagon jumping, as presently most the apps it’s going to be running look like little more than iPad ports.
Elsewhere this coming June, London Tech Week takes place across the UK capital from June 10-14 and is expected to feature more than 45,000 participants and over 750 different events. Access including a ticket for the main stage (and therefore keynotes) costs £495, which is around $630 at time of writing. You can also register for general admission for free.
Best Tech Events 2024: Second Half Highlights
In the second half of the year, we’re expecting a number of other major events to be taking place. We’ll spotlight these in due course, but for now here are the key 2024 tech events to mark in your diary after July.
- Black Hat USA (August 3-8, Las Vegas)
- Apple iPhone Event (September 2024, TBC)
- IFA (September 6-10, Berlin)
- Dreamforce (September 17-19, San Francisco)
- TechCrunch Disrupt (October 28-30)
- Web Summit (November 11-14, Lisbon)
Stay tuned, as we’ll be updating this guide with more events and details as they become available.
