NewsUC&C57m · 16:47 GMT · 10 min read

Enterprise Connect 2027: Informa Says Yes, Industry Has Doubts

With Enterprise Connect 2027 just four months away, leading industry analysts question whether the event will go ahead. Despite growing uncertainty among vendors, limited conference planning, and an outdated website, organizer Informa maintains the show is still scheduled to run.

Rob Scott

For decades, Enterprise Connect has been the place where the enterprise communications industry comes together. The vendors, the analysts, the buyers, the journalists, and pretty much everyone else with a stake in the future of business communications.

But with just over four months until its scheduled return to Las Vegas in March 2027, there's a question circulating around the industry that nobody seems able to answer with any confidence.

Is Enterprise Connect actually going to happen?

UC Today has spoken with several longstanding contributors to the conference, and the mood is difficult to ignore.

Analysts who have helped shape Enterprise Connect's conference program for years are reporting an unusual lack of activity. Vendors are reportedly holding back on commitments. And the event's own website still appears largely stuck in 2026.

Officially, however, the show is still on.

When UC Today approached Informa for clarification, an official source at the organization responded:

"At this time, Enterprise Connect is scheduled to run and if there are any updates we will let customers know."

It's a short statement that confirms the event remains scheduled, but leaves some significant questions unanswered.

And for an event that has played such an important role in the evolution of enterprise communications, the uncertainty is becoming a story in its own right.

Analysts Are Seeing the Warning Signs

Enterprise Connect has always been more than an exhibition hall filled with technology vendors.

Its strength has come, in large part, from the independent analysts, consultants, and industry experts who have contributed to its conference program, moderated discussions, and challenged some of the biggest names in enterprise communications.

Now, several of those familiar faces are questioning whether the event will return.

Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research, told UC Today that despite reaching out to Informa on multiple occasions, he has received little clarity.

Kerravala said he had received no official confirmation about whether the event would proceed.

He said Informa had told him that plans were being evaluated, while the usual preparation for speaking engagements had yet to begin.

"Typically, I've already had a couple of calls to discuss my speaking slots, but that has not happened."

— Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst, ZK Research

Kerravala also said he had heard from vendors that regularly sponsor the event who believed it would not take place.

His personal assessment was stark.

"I think it's far more likely than not that Enterprise Connect will not happen."

— Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst, ZK Research

Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, described similar concerns.

According to Lazar, the official message he has received is that Informa is reviewing its portfolio of events and expects to share further information.

But it's the apparent lack of progress around the conference program, coupled with vendor hesitation, that concerns him most.

"Most of the vendors I've spoken with are not planning on being part of the event if it does happen."

— Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst, Metrigy

Lazar added:

"Typically by this point the agenda is fairly well-baked, so it is certainly concerning."

— Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst, Metrigy

These aren't outsiders looking in. They are people who have spent years helping make Enterprise Connect what it is.

They understand its planning cycle, its relationship with the analyst community, and the considerable commercial commitments required to put on an event of this scale.

Their comments do not confirm a cancellation. But they raise serious questions about the state of preparations.

Four Months Away, and the Website Is Still in 2026

Perhaps the most obvious indication that something isn't quite right is Enterprise Connect's own website.

As of November 12, 2026, the homepage still prominently invites visitors to attend the event on March 10–12, 2026.

That conference finished eight months ago.

Visitors are greeted with a thank-you message for attending Enterprise Connect 2026, alongside last year's keynote speakers, conference tracks, and exhibitor information.

Elsewhere on the site, the event is advertised for March 23–25, 2027, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. However, some pages continue to reference the previous year's venue and program.

An outdated website, of course, doesn't mean a conference is cancelled.

But with just four months to go, the lack of a visible 2027 campaign is unusual for an event of Enterprise Connect's size and commercial significance.

Vendors make substantial investments in major industry conferences. Beyond the exhibition space and sponsorship packages, there are marketing budgets, staffing commitments, travel arrangements, customer meetings, and product announcements to consider.

These things don't happen overnight.

Enterprise buyers also need time to plan. Attending a multiday conference means securing budgets, booking travel, obtaining internal approvals, and justifying time away from their businesses.

For an event that charges admission and relies on significant sponsorship revenue, that planning window matters.

So where is the activity?

Where is the 2027 conference program? Where are the speaker announcements? Where is the exhibitor campaign encouraging vendors to make their commitments?

There may well be planning activity taking place behind closed doors.

But from the outside, and according to several of the people who would normally be involved, there is remarkably little to suggest that the usual preparations are underway.

Did Enterprise Connect Lose Its Momentum?

The uncertainty surrounding 2027 also raises a more uncomfortable question.

Was Enterprise Connect already losing momentum?

The conference made a significant move in 2026, leaving its longstanding Orlando home for Las Vegas.

From UC Today's perspective, this year's event felt noticeably quieter than previous editions, with what appeared to be fewer attendees and vendors across the exhibition floor. Independently verified comparative attendance figures would be needed to establish the scale of any decline.

But some analysts believe the problems go back further.

Kerravala, who has attended the conference since its VoiceCon days, suggested that Enterprise Connect had gradually become less relevant to its original enterprise buyer audience.

He pointed to declining attendance among enterprise users, leaving an increasingly vendor-heavy event supported by analysts, consultants, and the technology press.

The conference's keynotes had also changed, he argued, becoming more focused on individual products rather than the broader industry vision that once defined the show.

It's a criticism worth considering.

Enterprise Connect used to be the place where the industry's biggest technology companies competed over their visions for the future of communications.

The emergence of IP telephony, the rise of unified communications, the move to the cloud, and the evolution of video collaboration all featured heavily in the conference's history.

Today, the landscape looks very different.

Microsoft, Cisco, Zoom, Google, and AWS have extensive event programs and increasingly direct relationships with their enterprise customers.

Meanwhile, communications and collaboration have become part of a much broader technology conversation encompassing AI, customer experience, enterprise software, and digital workplace transformation.

For an independent conference like Enterprise Connect, maintaining a distinctive proposition in that environment is no small challenge.

If the vendors have their own conferences, and enterprise buyers increasingly attend broader technology events, where does that leave Enterprise Connect?

Could Informa Have Something Else in Mind?

There's another development that makes the current uncertainty particularly interesting.

In October, Informa announced its proposed £2.24 billion acquisition of Clarion Events, bringing together two major B2B events businesses.

Clarion's portfolio includes Unified Communications EXPO (UCX), which has an established presence in the UK, including London and Manchester.

Informa also operates major customer experience events, including ICMI's Contact Center Expo.

The proposed combination creates an interesting strategic question.

Could Enterprise Connect eventually be consolidated with UCX, repositioned within a larger global events portfolio, or reinvented under a different format?

There has been no announcement suggesting that any such change is planned.

But Lazar believes the opportunity is worth exploring.

"With Informa's recent acquisition of Clarion events I'd love to see them bring EC and UCX together under one brand and have events in both the US and Europe."

— Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst, Metrigy

It's an interesting proposition.

A transatlantic conference brand serving enterprise communications, collaboration, AI, and customer experience could potentially provide a fresh direction for a market that has changed considerably since Enterprise Connect first established itself.

And given the history, relationships, and recognition attached to the Enterprise Connect name, there is undoubtedly an argument for finding a way to preserve that legacy.

Whether Informa sees things the same way remains to be seen.

An Institution That Helped Shape Our Industry

Whatever happens in March, Enterprise Connect deserves recognition for what it has contributed to enterprise communications.

For decades, the conference, previously known as VoiceCon, helped define the direction of the market.

It was where Cisco and Microsoft competed to shape the future of unified communications. Where cloud communications grew from an emerging alternative into the dominant direction of the industry. Where video collaboration, VoIP, and contact center technologies became central to enterprise IT strategy.

Kerravala recalled the conference's role in several major industry shifts, including the emergence of cloud contact center platforms from AWS and Salesforce.

And despite his concerns about the show's recent direction, he was clear about its historical importance.

"That doesn't change the fact that for decades, Enterprise Connect was THE place to go for all things communications."

— Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst, ZK Research

For many of us who have followed and reported on this industry for years, that sentiment will resonate.

Enterprise Connect was more than a technology conference.

It was a meeting place for an entire industry.

Some of the most important conversations happened away from the keynote stage, over coffee, at evening events, or between sessions on the exhibition floor.

It was where new businesses found their footing, longstanding relationships were strengthened, and the people shaping enterprise communications came together to debate what came next.

The recent closure of No Jitter, another longstanding institution within the enterprise communications community, makes the questions surrounding Enterprise Connect feel especially poignant.

Both have played important roles in documenting and shaping the industry's development.

And while markets evolve, losing institutions with that history inevitably leaves a gap.

The Industry Deserves Some Clarity

To be clear, Enterprise Connect 2027 has not been officially cancelled.

Informa maintains that the event remains scheduled for March, and there is still time for the organizer to announce its plans.

But as the calendar moves toward 2027, the industry is entitled to ask some reasonable questions.

Why does the event's website still focus so heavily on 2026?

Why are longstanding conference contributors reporting an absence of the usual planning activity?

Why are vendors reportedly reluctant to commit?

And if Informa is reviewing its events portfolio, what does that mean for Enterprise Connect's future?

There may be perfectly reasonable answers to all these questions.

Perhaps the organizer is preparing a refreshed event format. Perhaps decisions are being made behind the scenes. Or perhaps the commercial realities of maintaining an independent enterprise communications conference have become increasingly difficult.

For now, nobody outside Informa appears to know for certain.

What we do know is that Enterprise Connect has earned its place in the history of enterprise communications.

If there is a new chapter ahead, the industry will want to support it.

And if the curtain is coming down on one of its most important institutions, it deserves a proper farewell.

Because conferences are ultimately more than venues, exhibition stands, or keynote stages. They are the places where industries build their identity, challenge their assumptions, and decide what comes next.

Enterprise Connect helped define an era of business communications. Whether it returns in 2027 or takes on a different form, the conversations it helped create will continue long after the exhibition halls have emptied.

The industry will move forward. Technology will evolve. New events and communities will emerge.

But institutions that bring an entire industry together are not easily replaced.

For now, the show is officially still on. Whether the industry believes it will happen is another matter.

Looking Ahead to the 2027 Events Calendar

Whatever happens with Enterprise Connect, 2027 promises another busy year for enterprise communications, collaboration, AI, and workplace technology events.

For industry professionals planning their conference schedules, UC Today maintains a guide to upcoming events, covering major vendor conferences, independent industry gatherings, and opportunities to connect with the wider communications technology community.

Explore the UC Today Industry Events Calendar for alternative events and conferences to consider in 2027.