Google’s annual Cloud Next event is one of the latest industry trade shows to be upended due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The company is moving the North American version of the event to an all-digital experience. It will still take place April 6-8, but will now be a “free, global, digital-first, multi-day event.” This will include online streaming of keynotes, breakout sessions, interactive learning sessions, and a question-and-answer feature with Google employees. There will not be any keynotes or sessions open to an audience.

The event is still touting keynote presentations by Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian. However, Google said it was still working on the networking and interactive components of the event.

Google is also automatically refunding registration fees for those that signed up to attend the event in person and cancelling hotel reservations made through the conference website.

Erratic Approach

Google’s move follows on the heels of what has been an uneven approach by show organizers in dealing with the coronavirus issue.

Industry trade group GSMA cancelled its annual MWC Barcelona event that was scheduled to take place late last month in Spain. However, its hand was forced as many of its big-name exhibitors and sponsors pulled their participation plans ahead of the official cancellation. And, unlike what Google is doing, GSMA was not able to put together an online version of its event.

Conversely, the security-focused RSA Conference went ahead as planned last week in San Francisco. This despite the city declaring a “local emergency” tied to the coronavirus during the event.

A handful of other events have been impacted by the ongoing public health situation.

Nvidia, in a move similar to Google, has changed its annual GTC event in San Jose, California, later this month to an all-digital event. And this week’s OCP Global Summit set to take place in San Jose was cancelled.

Others are taking a wait-and-see approach. The Linux Foundation, for instance, has a number of upcoming events that it still has scheduled, though it notes it’s “continuously monitoring” the situation tied to each event.