devopsdays Baltimore

Bottom Line, Up Front:

• We're cancelling DevOpsDays Baltimore 2024
• All tickets and sponsorships will be refunded in full
• We need organizers for future events: [email protected]
• Sign up to our mailing list with your non-work email to be notified about future events, even if you change jobs

It is with deep sadness that the organizers of DevOpsDays Baltimore have made the decision to cancel our 2024 event. To anyone who has already purchased a ticket, we truly thank you for your support; all purchased tickets will be refunded in full, with the conference covering the cost of any associated processing fees.

A number of factors went into the cancellation. Fewer sponsorships than we expect by this point in the planning process called into question the financial viability of putting on a show the scale of which we had in the past. We also were struggling to get attendance up; ticket sales initially looked improved over years past, but stagnated quite a bit over the last few weeks/months.

Our 2023 event operated at a deficit, but we hoped this was a byproduct of resuming after our pandemic pause. That apparently was not the case. Between a rise in event costs, people reporting lowered education budgets, and flatlining sponsorship budgets, we don't think we'll be able to make the event we were planning this year break-even. Adding on top of this, the weight of trying to put on a quality show, combined with life/work in general, has led a number of our organizers to burn out.

While the event this year is cancelled, we aren't saying goodbye. Our plan for the future is to take some time to recover from the burnout, and then start reimagining what a sustainable DevOpsDays conference looks like in 2025 and beyond.

To do this, we're going to need help. The organizers of other DevOpsDays events have great insights across the industry, and we will certainly lean on them. We also need some additional organizers to help put on a quality show. If you're local to Baltimore and want to see a show in the future; don't wait, reach out to [email protected] and we can rope you in. You don't need experience, just motivation to build a community in Baltimore.

If you're not interested in organizing but want to stay in touch, we have a mailing list! Sign up with your personal email if you can. Jobs change, but our drive to build a DevOps community in Baltimore follows us. As we evaluate the landscape, we'll send out surveys to figure out what type of event makes sense, and community feedback will be invaluable. You can additionally follow us on LinkedIn