Like people in most industries, IT staffers are being forced to do more with less these days. You may have less staff, but you definitely don't have less work. It's harder and harder to get out of the office, and you can't possibly attend all the conferences you'd like. We've taken a look at the calendar for the first half of 2013 to begin helping you plan your calendar. Where's the best training opportunity? Access to executives? Or more importantly, the best band and most swag? Read on.

1. Hits and misses on the 2013
technology event calendar
Like people in most industries, IT staffers are being
forced to do more with less these days. You may
have less staff, but you definitely don't have less
work. It's harder and harder to get out of the
office, and you can't possibly attend all the
conferences you'd like.
We've taken a look at the calendar for the first half
of 2013 to begin helping you plan your travel.
Where's the best training opportunity? Access to
executives? OK, who has the best band and most
swag?
Read on. Image courtesy of photostock/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
By Jeff Jedras

2. IBM Connect/Lotusphere
Jan 27-29, Orlando
Normally, I wouldn't advise my
arch-nemesis to visit Orlando.
However, with IBM dropping the
iconic Lotus brand, the 2013
IBM Lotusphere conference bag
could fetch a pretty penny on e-
Bay.
Sure, IBM executives Bob Picciano and Michael Rhodin will explain Big Blue's
strategy for mobile. But head to the Swan and Dolphin one last time for the
Lotus swag clearance bin at the conference store. Everything must go!
And bring me back a Lotus Notes notepad.

3. MacWorld
Jan. 31-Feb. 2, San Francisco
Sure, Macworld doesn't have Apple
CEO Tim Cook.
Or any other Apple executive.
It does have Saturday Night Live
comedian Fred Armisen
though, who used to do an
impression on the program of late
Apple messiah Steve Jobs.
Strangely, that's missing from the list of characters he's played in his Macworld
biography.
Perhaps they're saving the surprise?

4. HP Global Partner Conference
Feb. 19-21, Las Vegas
You may not be able to make
it, as this is a channel partner
conference and attendance is
by invitation only.
Still, you may want to
consider hanging around the
Venetian and watching for
signs of smoke when Meg
Whitman delivers her
keynote, and tries to explain how they
accidentally overvalued Autonomy Plc by $5 billion, give or take a few hundred
million.
It might be soup and sandwiches for lunch this year.

5. CA World
Apr. 21-24, Las Vegas
Attending CA World has its pros and
cons.
On the pro side, Richard Branson will
deliver a keynote (only a pro if you
haven't seen him at the 50 other tech
conferences he has spoken at). On the
con side, the Mandalay Bay is at the far
end of the Las Vegas strip.
However, CA wants you to go so badly they've done your homework for you and
provided a downloadable letter of justification in Word format to give your boss.
Just remember to replace “Dear [insert name of manager]” before you hand it in.

6. SAP Sapphire Now
May 14-16, Orlando
Lets get the cons out of the way first:
SAP Sapphire is on Orlando. At the
Orange County Convention
Center, one of the largest, and most
isolated, conference centres on the
circuit. SAP may have signed a 99 year
lease, as they've been year awhile.
They did go to Atlanta one year;
apparently people preferred Orlando
over downtown Atlanta.
They usually have a good concert – Sheryl Crowe, Santana and Eric Clapton
have performed in the past – but it's also one of the largest, most session-
packed shows around, with a massive exhibit hall.
Which means, of course – quality swag.