Microsoft's global Build conference comes to Auckland

Microsoft is bringing its global Build developer conference to Auckland this May 30.

New Zealand's largest city is one of many stop-offs on the event's first ever global tour. The event here will feature keynote addresses delivered by three of the top Microsoft technical evangelists and engineers from the company's global research headquarters in Redmond, USA.

Last week 5,000 developers attended the global Build event held in San Francisco. It was here the company declared its ambition to have one billion active Windows 10 devices by 2018.

Nigel Parker, Microsoft NZ director of developer experience, says an Auckland-based Build event will be of great benefit to Kiwi developers and their employers as it will give them an overview of what was presented at the US event.

"We've never had a Build event here in New Zealand, but we know many Kiwis make the trip every year to the US event to be amongst the first in the world to receive future Microsoft platform announcements," says Parker.

Parker also says the Build event will be a great precursor to Microsoft's annual technical training event, now called Ignite NZ (formerly TechEd), which will be held in Auckland in September.

"This year we celebrate our twentieth year of hosting what's become New Zealand's largest technical training event for developers and IT Pros.

"Ignite NZ will provide the opportunity for developers to go deeper into the concepts that they will be introduced to at the Build event," he says.

Speakers at the first New Zealand Build conference include keynote, Giorgio Sardo, senior director in the Developer Experience - Evangelism group at Microsoft Corporation; Dave Crawford, senior design program manager at Microsoft; and Nikola Metulev, program manager in the Engineering Engagement and Evangelism group at Microsoft.

Microsoft says the Auckland Build is aimed at:

• Windows Store developers
• Local ISV developers/architects (client focused)
• SI developers/architects (client focused)
• Enterprise LOB developers/architects (client focused)
• Game developers
• Web front-end developers
• iOS/android app developers

The conference will take place on May 30 at the ANZ Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland.