IT Pro Is In Atlanta For Microsoft Ignite

My name is Tommy Carron, returning guest blogger for Lifehacker Australia. I covered Microsoft’s conference in New Orleans and have returned to North America to discover Microsoft’s newest rapidly evolving tech. This week premiere technology conference Microsoft Ignite is underway in Atlanta. Georgia’s World Congress Center will host over 1400 sessions at the completely sold-out event. Here’s what I’m excited to see.

With so much choice in addition to the exhibition hall, Microsoft has created an online event bot to assist attendees. I’ll be covering Microsoft Office, cloud infrastructure and security.

My agenda includes Windows Server 2016 and Operations Management Suite and of course the keynote that will focus on how Microsoft technology enables digital transformation.

I’ve collected my pass from the Ignite registration desks conveniently located near baggage collection at Atlanta airport. I’ve packed my best walking shoes and eagerness to learn about Microsoft’s next generation of innovations.

With pass in hand I headed to downtown Atlanta to attend a pre-day session all about Ignite. That’s right — there’s a pre-day where you can learn how to best prepare for the week ahead. Expert led breakout sessions, exam preparation, Hands-on learning labs, expert-led community theatre and main sessions are part of the Ignite experience.

Three enormous buildings house the main sessions based on type: developer, decision maker or IT Pro. There’s more than fifty Usage & Adoption sessions that recognise that the functions of IT professionals is changing. Additional hands-on learning pre training was available for those who registered for the optional pre-day training sessions.

To Microsoft’s credit there is to be no printed schedule with sleek mobile apps being the digital tool of choice. Lab sessions will be made available through the app for 30 days and getting in touch with like-minded IT Pros is a cinch with its built in attendee networking feature.

After collecting my Ignite backpack I went for a stroll through the nearby Centennial Olympic Park where Microsoft will host a celebration later this week. I could now see the nearby arena where I’ll be watching tomorrow morning’s Microsoft Ignite Keynote with Scott Guthrie.

Live video of the first day of Microsoft Ignite will be streamed from 10:30pm 26 September 2016 (AEST). I’ll be reporting live from the keynote audience. But first, I’m going to try to rest after a huge American serving-sized portion of Mexican food and 24 hours of travel. See you tomorrow!

IT Pro will be reporting on all things Microsoft and enterprise IT at Ignite Atlanta 2016. Join us for the chief takeaways from the keynote tomorrow.