TechEd is an annual conference for developers and IT professionals put on by Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

. It is held in several locations around the world. The first TechEd was held in 1993 in Orlando, FL.

The conference normally lasts between 3 and 5 days, and consists of presentation and whiteboard sessions and hands-on labs. There are opportunities to meet Microsoft experts, MVP's and community members. Networking is enhanced through parties, community areas and Ask the Expert sessions. The event also includes an exhibition area where vendors can show off technologies and sell products. There is a vast content catalog from which attendees can select sessions that will be most beneficial. An agenda is published online before the conference begins.

Africa

Was previously known as TechEd South Africa until 2007, where it changed to TechEd Africa. 2007 was also the last year the event was hosted at Sun City

Sun City

-South Africa:* Sun City, North West, a luxury casino resort, situated in the North West Province-United States:* The Sun City is a nickname or moniker for El Paso, TX because of the fact that sun shines for more than 302 days on average in the city....

, after which it was moved to the Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 International Conference Centre (ICC) due to the growing size of the audience was no longer able to be accommodated at Sun City

Sun City

-South Africa:* Sun City, North West, a luxury casino resort, situated in the North West Province-United States:* The Sun City is a nickname or moniker for El Paso, TX because of the fact that sun shines for more than 302 days on average in the city....

.
Official website for TechEd Africa

Australia

TechEd Australia is the largest TechEd in the Asia-Pacific region
Official website for TechEd Australia

Europe

Each year for the European event changes to a new location.
Official website for TechEd EMEA

India

Official website for TechEd India

Microsoft TechEd India has been an annual fixture since 2003 except for 2008 which was the only year when Microsoft TechEd India event was not organized.

In 2006, TechEd was held in New Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore during the month of June. There were two TechEd events held in each city, the first one delved into architectural aspects of technology and laid emphasis on the needs of the Architect audience alongside four tracks focused on Platform and Tools for Developers. The second event was geared towards technology professionals working on IT infrastructure.

In 2007, TechEd was held in Bangalore.

In 2009, TechEd was held in Hyderabad in the month of May. Rechristened Microsoft TechMela, the name change was necessitated by an urge to Indianize the event and its content so that it aligned with the ethos of every Indian. It was attended by over 2,500 CXOs, TDMs, BDMs, Developers, IT Professionals, Architects, Designers, faculty Members and Technology Students.

TechEd-India 2009 was keynoted by Steve Ballmer

Steve Ballmer

Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...

, the only TechEd event worldwide where Steve Ballmer was to speak. There were 28 Technical Tracks that spanned more than 112 breakout sessions, 24 instructor-led Labs, more than 20 Chalk-Talk sessions. The tracks were designed as a navigational tool which assisted in finding the sessions and labs best suited for individual needs.

In 2011, TechEd India is being held in Bangalore from March 23 - 25 at Hotel Lalit Ashok. The event will include keynotes by Senior Microsoft Executives, breakout sessions, hands-on-labs, instructor-led labs, product team tents, free Microsoft certification, community programs and solution expo. The event is keynoted by Qi Lu

Qi Lu

Lu Qi , more commonly known as Qi Lu in English , is currently an executive at Microsoft working on the Bing search engine. Lu formerly worked as technology developer and manager for Yahoo!'s technology search division....

.

Latin America

The Latin American TechEd has always been held in São Paulo, Brazil (up to now).
Official website for TechEd Latin America

Middle East

First started in 2010 and hosted in Dubai.
Official website for TechEd Middle East

New Zealand

Tech·Ed New Zealand is the largest IT Conference in New Zealand and is held annually in Auckland.
Official website for Tech·Ed New Zealand

North America

Each year for the North American event changes to a new location.
Official website for Tech·Ed North America

TechEd Online

TechEd Online was an online supplement to the in-person events, which contained video interviews recorded at the event, videos of sessions and keynotes, blogs and speaker blog aggregation. Much of this content can now be found on Microsoft's Channel 9. http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd

For TechEd North America, video recordings, session slide decks, and supplemental content can be found on myTechEd.

myTechEd

Microsoft myTechEd is an online community and social networking tool where conference attendees can participate in technical discussions, access recordings of past year's sessions, and connect with speakers and other attendees through a directory. myTechEd is a free resource available for both in-person attendees and virtual attendees who are not able to make it to the annual conference. Microsoft myTechEd website

Dates and Locations of TechEd Events

Year	Africa	Australia	China	Europe EMEA	India	Japan	Latin America	New Zealand	Middle East	North America	Russia	South East Asia
1993										Orlando, FL
1994										New Orleans, LA
1995										New Orleans, LA
1996										Los Angeles, CA
1997				Nice, France						Orlando, FL
1998				Nice, France						New Orleans, LA
1999				Amsterdam, Netherlands						May 21–28, Dallas Convention Centre
2000				Amsterdam, Netherlands						Orlando, FL
2001				Barcelona, Spain						Atlanta, GA
2002				Barcelona, Spain						New Orleans, LA
2003		Brisbane		Barcelona						Dallas, TX
2004		Canberra		Jun 29, Amsterdam, Netherlands						San Diego, CA
2005	Aug, Sun City, South Africa	Gold Coast		Amsterdam, Netherlands						Orlando, FL
2006	Oct 21-24, Sun City, South Africa	Sydney		Nov 7-10/14-17, Barcelona, Spain						Boston, MA
2007	Oct, Sun City, South Africa	Gold Coast		Nov 12-16, Barcelona, Spain						Orlando, FL
2008	Aug 03-05, ICC, Durban, South Africa	Sydney		Nov 10-14, Barcelona, Spain						Orlando, FL		Aug 11-14, Malaysia
2009	Aug 02-05, ICC, Durban, South Africa	Sep 08-11, Gold Coast	Nov, Beijing, China	Nov 09-13, Berlin, Germany	May 13–15, Hyderabad	Aug 25-28, Yokohama		Sep 14-16, Auckland		May 11–15, Los Angeles, CA
2010	Oct 17-20, ICC, Durban, South Africa	Aug 24-27, Gold Coast		Nov 8-12, Berlin, Germany	April 12–14, Bangalore		Sep 13-15, São Paulo, Brazil	Aug 30 - Sep 1, Auckland	Mar 1-3, Dubai International Convention Centre, Dubai, UAE	Jun 7-10, New Orleans, LA
2011		Aug 30 - Sep 2, Gold Coast						August 24-26, Auckland		May 16-19, Atlanta, GA	Nov 9-10, Krasnogorsk
2012										Jun 11-14, Orlando, FL