A colleague of mine was considering attending a conference this fall and, knowing that I'm pretty connected with the community, asked if he should go to TechDays or DevTeach. I thought other people may be wondering the same thing so I decided to put together a comparison chart to assist in making an informed decision.
|
Tech Days Canada |
DevTeach |
Web Site |
http://www.microsoft.com/canada/techdays |
http://www.devteach.com |
Where and When |
Toronto (Oct 29 and 30) Montreal (Nov 6 and 7) Ottawa (Nov 27) For other locations and dates see the Tech Days site |
Montreal (Dec 1 to 5) |
Length |
One or two days of breakout session depending on location |
Three days of breakout sessions plus pre and post conference sessions |
Sessions |
Two Day: 40 sessions in five tracks (16 Developer and 24 IT Pro) One Day: 30 sessions in five tracks (12 Developer and 18 IT Pro) |
136 sessions in eight tracks (119 Developer and 17 IT Pro) Note: Some of the sessions will be delivered in French |
Speakers |
Microsoft Canada Developer and IT Pro Advisors Local Community Members
You see speakers like those you would see at your local user group or code camp |
Microsoft Redmond Product Team Members Canadian and International Speakers
You'll see speakers like those you would see at the largest conferences (e.g. TechEd) mixed with speakers from the Canadian Developer/IT Pro community |
Cost |
Two Day Early Bird: $299.99 Two Day Full: $499.99 One Day Early Bird: $129.99 One Day Full: $249.99 |
Early Bird: $949.00 Full: $1,249.00 You can get $50.00 off the prices noted above through your local user group or selected Microsoft Partners |
Atmosphere |
Community oriented Easy access to speakers/community experts |
Community oriented Easy access to speakers/community experts |
So, I guess the choice comes down to what you're looking for. While DevTeach is more expensive, it offers more that three times the number of sessions and covers a much wider range of topics. Both are more than worth the cost to attend - just make sure you check out the session lineups before deciding where to spend your conference dollars to ensure you get the experience you are looking for.