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HP Reinvent is the latest channel conference to be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, with the technology giant postponing its annual partner event until the second half of 2020.
Originally set for 24 March in Anaheim, California, Reinvent traditionally combines the delivery of HP, customer and partner strategies during a three-day event, in addition to the running of World Partner Forum.
This year, the vendor’s ongoing acquisition battle with industry rival Xerox was no doubt set to dominate the headlines, in addition to the priorities of newly appointed CEO, Enrique Lores.
“We made the difficult decision to postpone HP Reinvent in Anaheim, Mar 24-26 until the early fall timeframe in 2020,” a statement from HP read. “According to the World Health Organisation, the dynamics of the Coronavirus continues to escalate, rather than subside, with wide-spread implications in multiple countries and markets.
“We must place the well-being of our employees, our partners, and our media and industry analyst community as our number one priority.”
The move comes after Cisco recently cancelled its flagship Cisco Live conference in Melbourne due to "ongoing concerns" about the coronavirus outbreak. Set for 3-6 March, the vendor’s annual event in Asia Pacific usually plays host to around 8500 attendees from across the region, spanning channel partners, customers, distributors and alliance vendors.
“Our customers, partners and employees are our top priority and we strongly believe this is the right decision given the current circumstances,” a Cisco statement read at the time of the cancellation. “Our thoughts are with those directly impacted by this situation.”
The news also follows the cancellation of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which annually pulls in crowds of more than 100,000.
“With due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today, the GSMA has cancelled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event,” a statement read.
However, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Summit is still expected to go ahead as planned in Singapore despite ongoing coronavirus concerns in Southeast Asia.
Set for Wednesday 15 April, the two-day conference will be held at the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre, hosting more than 14,000 attendees from across ASEAN, including AWS experts, partners and customers.
“The safety and health of our AWS Summit participants, partners, and employees is our highest priority,” a spokesperson for AWS told Channel Asia. “We are closely monitoring developments related to the COVID-19 coronavirus and are aligning with guidance from local authorities regarding precautionary measures during the AWS Singapore Summit event.”
