10 Tech Conferences Worth Attending in 2015

Looking to get the biggest bang for your travel budget buck in the remaining months of 2015? CIO has compiled a list of 10 conferences that can help your organization address technology and business challenges, offer insight into security, software development and gamification and celebrate the contributions of women in technology. Check it out, and then get on to the phone to your travel department.

There’s something for everyone at this business and technology show, whether you’re a service provider, a reseller or a VAR, a large enterprise, small or mid-sized business, or a C-level executive. ITEXPO offers two events annually in the U.S., one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast. ITEXPO West is scheduled for October 6 – 8, 2015 and will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif.

One of the grandfather of tech conferences has evolved from an emphasis on pure technology to embrace business and DevOps trends. The conference is especially appealing for tech pros in middle- and upper-management, including CIOs, vice presidents of IT, infrastructure and software development managers, and networking and system administrators. Interop Las Vegas is scheduled for April 27 – May 1, 2015 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Black Hat is a highly technical and increasingly relevant global information security event held worldwide. Now in its 16th year, Black Hat offers insight into the latest information security research, development, tools and trends in a vendor-neutral environment. It’s perfect for security practitioners, C-level execs interested in security and security applications and technology, business developers, recruiters and venture capitalists. Black Hat US is scheduled for August 1-6, 2015 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing is the world’s largest gathering of women technologists. Named for Navy Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, the conference is produced and sponsored by the Anita Borg Institute and the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). The conference aims to increase the visibility of women in the technology field, and offers mentoring, collaboration and inspiration to attendees from all areas of the IT industry. The 2015 Grace Hopper Celebration will be held October 14-16 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

While not specifically aimed at the IT industry, any leader or executive facing talent acquisition challenges can benefit from attending the ERE Recruiting Conference. Featuring heavy-hitting talent acquisition leaders like John “Coach Bru” Brubaker to the managing director for Talent Acquisition at Charles Schwab, as well as 20-minute TAD (Talent Acquisition Development) talks on talent challenges and small-group networking and problem solving sessions, this conference is a can’t-miss. The ERE Recruiting Conference is scheduled for April 25-27 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.

QCon is designed to empower software development professionals by encouraging them to share knowledge and expertise and facilitating community. It’s a global, practitioner-driven series of global conferences, focusing on the needs of tech team leads, architects, developers and project managers who influence and innovate using software. This year, QCon will be held in the U.S. in two locations: in New York City, June 8-12, and in San Francisco, November 16-20.

GOTO is a conference and workshop created by developers, for developers, where the emphasis is placed on presenting the latest industry and technology developments as they become relevant and interesting for the software development community. The topics for this year’s conference, held in Chicago, May 11-14, at the Westin Chicago River North, are the following: Java, Testing, Distributed Systems, Data Science, Agile, JavaScript, Trends, Architecture, Languages and Security.

The research and consulting firm’s heavy-hitting ITxpo and symposium is geared specifically toward the needs and concerns of forward-thinking, innovative CIOs and executive leaders. From cutting-edge technology to the latest thinking on the intersection of business and technology and how to innovate and succeed in the digital era, Gartner’s analysts and exhibitors have something for everyone. This year, the Gartner CIO symposium and ITxpo will be held October 4-8 in Orlando, Florida.

The holy grail of conferences for anyone interested in gaming, gamification and the intersection of technology and entertainment (or just a whole lot of fun). E3 showcases leading-edge companies, groundbreaking new technologies and never-before-seen products, and helps tech leaders connect with new and existing partners and exposure to emerging markets. The E3 conference will be held June 16-18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, Calif. [Disclosure: E3 is operated by IDG Communications, the parent company of CIO.com.]