Microsoft's popular TechEd conference will be reborn this year as Ignite, mirroring the new naming of the events worldwide.

Registrations for the event, New Zealand's largest annual technology event, are now open, with Microsoft New Zealand saying it aims to deliver ‘the most impressive speaker line-up in its history' this year.

Paul Muckleston, Microsoft New Zealand managing director, says this year's event, which celebrates the 20th year of the event in New Zealand, will have a ‘clear new focus that aligns with Microsoft's global approach to equipping the industry for business in a mobile-first, cloud-first world'.

“Since the first TechEd was held in 1996 with just 12 sessions, this event has been transformational for the Kiwi tech industry over the last 20 years.

“As Ignite NZ, we are looking forward to continuing to make it the most successful and well-attended annual technology event in New Zealand.

The September event kicks off with a as yet to be announced line-up of international keynote speakers at Vector Arena, before heading back to Skycity Convention Centre for more than 140 sessions.

Microsoft says it's expecting around more than 2500 attendees this year for sessions covering cloud infrastructure and management, productivity, big data and the Internet of Things, unified communications, mobile and more.

Several additional events including Microsoft Partner Connect and the Women in Technology evening function will also be held around the conference.