Microsoft cancelled its standalone Office Developer Conference for this year and instead will fold the content into its SharePoint Conference 2009 event, which is scheduled for the fall.
The reason for the consolidation wasn't exactly clear, but Microsoft described it as an opportunity for developers.
"We are optimizing our show presence for developers seeking opportunities to build on the Office platform, which includes Office client applications, SharePoint, Exchange and Communicator," a Microsoft blog explained. The SharePoint Conference 2009 event is scheduled to take place on Oct. 19 to 22 in Las Vegas.
The move to fold the Office developer events into the SharePoint Conference comes on the heels of a Microsoft branding campaign for its "2010" products, which was announced in April. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) will be called SharePoint 2010 when Microsoft releases it in the first half of 2010.
Microsoft plans to drop the "O" for Office in MOSS as part of that branding campaign. The idea is to keep the Office client branding clear and distinct.
Microsoft will also cancel the "MSDN Unleashed" event in Bellevue, Wash., the company announced on Monday. MSDN Unleashed was one of Microsoft's "Best of MIX '09" events for Web developers.
In April, Microsoft cancelled its Business Intelligence Conference for this year. The company now plans to hold its BI event every two years, with the next one planned for Oct. 2010 in Seattle.
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