AFCOM Expands Conference Schedule, Adding Regional Events

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AFCOM President Tom Roberts said the addition of six new regional AFCOM Symposium events for 2014 "reflects the ongoing evolution of our events." (Photo: Colleen Miller)

AFCOM, the industry association for data center professionals, is expanding its conference schedule with a series of regional events in 2014, the group said today. The addition of six AFCOM Symposium events fills out an active 2014 agenda for the group, which includes two Data Center World conferences in the U.S. as well as one in the Asia/Pacific region.

AFCOM says it is rebranding its two major U.S. events. The Spring Data Center World conference will become the Data Center World - Global Conference, reflecting the conference's size, scope and reputation for gathering together a diverse attendance base. This year's edition of the Data Center World – Global Conference will be held in Las Vegas, from April 28 – May 2, 2014 at The Mirage.

Meanwhile, in 2014 the Fall Data Center World conference will become the Data Center World – Leadership Conference. With a strong focus on long-term data center strategy for senior level data center executives, the Data Center World- Leadership Conference will focus its educational program towards executives who recognize the growing importance of the data center in accomplishing overall business strategy. It will take place in Orlando, Florida from October 19–22 at the Orlando World Center Marriott.

The biggest new initiative for 2014 is AFCOM's expansion into regional events with six one-day Symposia being staged in conjunction with local AFCOM chapters throughout the U.S. The goal of each single-day symposia will be to gather professionals within a specific region together to learn, collaborate, and collectively address regional issues around data center development. The symposia will be held in the spring in Atlanta, in the summer in Boston and Dallas, and in the fall in Philadelphia, Southern California, and Southern Ohio. Final dates and locations will be announced in coming months at the AFCOM web site.

In the past three years, AFCOM has held a symposium in Australia. This event will now become the Data Center World – Asia/Pacific Symposium.

“As the data center market has matured, so have each of our Data Center World conferences," said Tom Roberts, AFCOM President and Chairman of Data Center World. "The new positioning for each of our conferences in 2014, as the Data Center World - Global Conference, the Data Center World - Leadership Conference, and the Data Center World - Asia/Pacific Symposium, along with the addition of 6 new AFCOM Symposia, reflects the ongoing evolution of our events ensuring we meet all of our customer’s education and networking needs. With more than 30-years as the leading organization serving data center professionals around the globe, these changes reflect our continued commitment to meeting a growing skillset demand for every level of responsibility within a data center.”