San Francisco, Apr 7 (IANS): In a strong message for tech giants as new coronavirus continues its unabated growth globally particularly in the US, Microsoft is planning to make all its events – internal as well as external – digital-only till July 2021.

According to a report in The Verge on Tuesday, the online-only focus is now extending to far more events over the next year.

"In light of the challenges presented by COVID-19, Microsoft has been closely monitoring the developing global situation and re-assessing the overall company-wide in-person event strategy," the report said, quoting an an internal Microsoft email sent to most valuable professionals (MVPs).

"As a company, Microsoft has made the decision to transition all external and internal events to a digital-first experience through July 2021," it read.

Microsoft has already announced that 'Ignite' which is its final major conference of 2020 in September has been shifted to a digital-only format.

‘Ignite' is Microsoft's conference for IT professionals and developers.

Microsoft earlier cancelled its flagship developer conference 'Build 2020' in-person, scheduled to take place in the US from May 19-21.

Microsoft has also cancelled its Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Summit in Seattle.

The tech giant would now rely on its own digital tools and Microsoft Teams to hold events remotely.