Microsoft is the latest company to shift its biggest annual event to a digital stream following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. While the conference is typically aimed at developers, Microsoft tends to announce important news at their Build events, usually regarding improvements and updates to Windows and Office.

As the coronavirus continues to make its way across the world, more and more companies are beginning to realise that maybe it would be a better idea to not have thousands of people crammed into a warehouse. Microsoft is the latest corporation in a a long string of tech industry giants to shift their focus away from in-person gatherings to an online showcase as it has announced that Microsoft Build will instead take place as a digital event.

Microsoft Build is the company’s annual software event that gathers developers and engineers together to unveil the latest upgrades and improvements to their existing software while potential showing off some new products. In a statement to The Verge, a Microsoft statesperson said, “The safety of our community is a top priority. In light of the health safety recommendations for Washington State, we will deliver our annual Microsoft Build event for developers as a digital event, in lieu of an in-person event. We look forward to bringing together our ecosystem of developers in this new virtual format to learn, connect and code together. Stay tuned for more details to come.”

While most of Microsoft’s announcements at this year’s Build event are still unknown, new details on its dual-screen improvements for Windows 10X and Android are expected. While the transition to an online event will probably be fairly simple for a company the size of Microsoft, it’s a real shame that many of the developers and engineers won’t be able to hang out and complain about “the suits”, a tradition we’re sure is commonplace at an event like Build.