Microsoft will hold next year a new conference that encompasses its enterprise IT products, including the productivity and server Office software, IT management wares and development tools, and replaces several shows that are narrower in scope.
Described as a "unified technology event for enterprises," it will be held in May of 2015 in Chicago, and will apparently fuse Management Summit, TechEd and individual conferences for Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and Project.
It's not clear whether Build will also be folded into this new conference. Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
"If you've attended TechEd or Microsoft Management Summit, this the place for you to be. It's everything you've come to know and love and more. You'll find what you're familiar with and you'll learn more about Lync, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, Project, SharePoint, SQL Server, System Center, Visio, Visual Studio, Windows, Windows Intune, Windows Server and lots more," Microsoft said in a blog post.
The conference consolidation reflects Microsoft's more integrated approach to its product stack, especially with its cloud products, like Office 365, which in its most sophisticated editions includes the full productivity apps suite with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other software, as well as the cloud editions of servers like Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online.
Microsoft official Julia White said in a separate blog post that this new conference will also be better because it will offer "clearer visibility into Microsoft's future technology vision and roadmap" and provide "unparalleled access to Microsoft senior leaders and the developers who write the code."
The new conference will also have a beefier learning component and offer a more dynamic environment for networking and interacting with fellow tech pros and peers, along with "epic" after hours entertainment, according to White.
"[I] am here to reassure you that this unified conference will be every bit as awesome, every bit as valuable and in fact, it will exceed on both these measures," she wrote.
Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.