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Microsoft To Merge Management Summit with TechEd 2014

Microsoft will fold its Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) event into its TechEd conference starting in 2014, the company said on Tuesday.

The move is not a cost-cutting measure, according a statement by Brad Anderson, corporate vice president of Windows Server and System Center. Instead, he said its aim is to broaden IT pro access to various management experts.

Microsoft will merge the deep content from the MMS events, typically at levels 300 and 400, into TechEd 2014, which is scheduled next year for May 12 to 15 in Houston. TechEd 2014 also will include some familiar MMS features, such as labs conducted by dedicated management instructors, as well as management "Meet & Geek opportunities," Anderson indicated.

Anderson described the change as "a big transition." TechEd has traditionally been viewed as Microsoft's educational event that accommodates varying skill levels, while MMS was the more heavily technical event for IT pros. While cost wasn't the reason for Microsoft folding MMS into TechEd, according to Anderson, he did admit that the content between the two events had become "very similar."

TechEd 2014 registration opens on Nov. 5, 2013. Microsoft will have early-bird registration ($1,895) open before Dec. 31, 2013, but the cost goes up after that date to $2,195.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

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