The terrorist bombings has had a mixed effect on IT industry events scheduled for this week and next.
Concerns for loved ones, combined with a complete shutdown of the nation's air traffic grid, threw the status of several events in doubt.
On Tuesday, Sun officials were still debating the status of the iForce Summit, scheduled for next week in Orlando, Fla. One company spokesperson said not to pack bags right away, as it may be rescheduled.
Gary Grimes, Sun's vice president for partner management and sales operations for the U.S., said it was a tough call. "Obviously there are issues with over a thousand attendees with plane tickets that can't be canceled, large hotel deposits, and so on," he said.
Another Sun event, however, was cut outright. Ken Sauter, vice president of Sun's northeast geographical area, was scheduled to hold a "town hall" type of meeting with a number of channel partners in Burlington, Mass. That event, along with another scheduled for Somerset, Mass., on Thursday, was canceled.
The keynote addresses at Networld Interop in Atlanta were canceled, but the exhibits remained opened to sparse crowds. The status for the remainder of the show remains in doubt.
The Compaq Enterprise Technical Symposium (CETS) 2001, which showcases Compaq's enterprise solutions for end users and solution providers, was scheduled for Sept. 9 to 14 in Anaheim, Calif. On Tuesday, the event canceled, said a spokesperson. CETS is scheduled to continue on Wednesday.
The CTIA Wireless Show scheduled for September 11 to 13 in San Diego went on as scheduled, although the mood was somber.
The Storage World Conference 2000 event, scheduled for this Friday in San Jose, Calif., will run as scheduled, organizers said.
