Budget cuts don't always result in layoffs, however, as evidenced by NetApp. The storage vendor this week announced that it is cancelling its first annual user conference, NetApp Accelerate, in 2009. According to NetApp, the conference was deep-sixed in response to customer feedback about their increased restrictions on corporate travel.
The conference was originally slated for February in San Francisco. The company said registered attendees will receive full refunds of any deposits and/or conference fees they have already paid.
"We had more customer interest in NetApp Accelerate than we anticipated," said Elisa Steele, senior vice president, Corporate Marketing, at NetApp in a statement. "But those same customers told us their travel budgets were being cut and it was difficult to commit to attending in today's climate of economic uncertainty. For those reasons, we decided to cancel this year's program."
Pictured here is NetApp chairman and CEO Dan Warmenhoven.
