A few weeks ago, Google canceled the in-person version of Cloud Next, its largest conference of the year, amid a flurry of similar coronavirus-related cancellations of major events. Originally, Cloud Next was scheduled to run from April 6 to 8. Like other companies, Google at the time said it would hold an online version of the show, but as the company announced today, it is now also postponing that. The company did not announce a new date.
“Right now, the most important thing we can do is focus our attention on supporting our customers, partners, and each other,” Alison Wagonfeld, Google Cloud’s chief marketing officer, writes. “Please know that we are fully committed to bringing Google Cloud Next ’20: Digital Connect to life, but will hold the event when the timing is right. We will share the new date when we have a better sense of the evolving situation.”
Chances are we will see a few more of these announcements in the coming weeks. As companies move to remote work, states enact curfews and social distancing has become a word everybody suddenly knows, even putting on a streamed keynote is getting harder. From a more cynical point of view, it’s also worth noting that tech companies are also now facing a world where there isn’t all that much interest in their announcements during a relentless news cycle that prioritizes other topics. Over the last few days, we’ve seen a number of companies postpone their pre-planned announcements, most of which weren’t public yet, and more are sure to come.
