SAP has pulled back all planned events for March 2020 over public
health concerns surrounding the global spread of Covid-19, including its signature
travel and expense customer conference Concur Fusion, which was scheduled for
March 9-12 in Orlando. According to published reports, an estimated 4,000
customers and industry partners attended the 2019 event.
In an email that hit inboxes around 10:05 pm Eastern
Standard Time on March 3, the travel and expense technology giant expressed
regret for the last-minute cancellation.
"We made this decision out of an abundance of caution,"
the email read. "Our first priority is the health of our customers,
partners, and employees. That is also why SAP has canceled all corporate events
for the month of March. While the risk of infection is presently low for
individuals in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC), this is a fluid public health matter. The CDC has indicated that it may
recommend modifying, postponing, or canceling large events."
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one close Concur partner who
had planned a product launch at the Fusion conference told BTN: "It’s disappointing. We are
very aligned with Concur with our product. This is always a marquee event to see
existing customers and new customers. We had a series of great meetings lined
up. It also is a key place to see our partners from Concur and work on the
future."
With
coronavirus concerns hitting the United States hard this week, however, the Concur
partner was already concerned about attendance numbers. "I'm sure
attendance would have been lower this year as travel managers might have to
stay home to deal with the chaos," that has engulfed corporate travel and
meetings since the viral outbreak began to spread outside of China in early
February.
SAP
Concur isn't the only industry event undone by coronavirus concerns—and it
likely won't be the last. The ITB conference in Berlin which had been scheduled
for March 4-8 was cancelled. UATP's distribution conference which had been
scheduled for Bangkok and then moved to Rome over Covid-19 concern throughout Asia-Pacific
also fell victim to the virus.
Other
SAP events scheduled in the U.S. in March have been pulled. According to an announcement
on the Concur website, SAP Ariba Live in Las Vegas along with all SAP Now
conferences scheduled for March.
SAP
Concur will refund Fusion registration fees to attendees or apply them to a
future event. Housing costs for reservations made through the Fusion room block
will not be charged. All attendees will be responsible for cancelling their own
travel arrangements. The SAP Concur Fusion website
has more information about access to sessions and potentially rescheduling meetings.
________________
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that ITB Berlin was scheduled to run March 10-14. BTN regrets the error.