Dive Brief:
- RSA Conference is delaying its annual security conference due to a surge of the omicron variant, moving the San Francisco security event from February to June 6-9, the organization said Wednesday.
- After taking place virtually this year, RSA Conference still plans to hold the event in-person, but the delays will allow a safer gathering, said Linda Gray Martin, VP of RSA Conference, in a statement.
- The organization plans to contact all attendees, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, and partners about the event delay. RSA Conference did not respond for comment by publication time.
Dive Insight:
For the security community, the delay means one of the top gatherings of enterprise leaders will have to wait a few more months. But it also means the RSA Conference can try to avoid vendors withdrawing support from the event.
CES, the next major in-person technology conference, takes place in two weeks, but top vendors are growing leery about participation. Amazon will neither attend or exhibit, Geekwire reported, and T-Mobile is limiting attendance.
The delays echo concerns that arose the last week of February in 2020. RSA Conference 2020 was overshadowed by concerns about COVID-19 as vendors withdrew and travel restrictions limited attendance. The event, which historically draws more than 40,000 people each year, was one of the last major conferences to take place in person last year.
As the omicron variant contributes to a coronavirus surge in the U.S. ahead of the holidays, a hoped-for return to relative normalcy seems once again delayed.
Major companies continue to delay office returns, in some cases indefinitely, and ongoing legal battles are casting doubt on vaccine mandates.
