Finding common ground for government, private industry and the academic community to collaborate on homeland security solutions topped the agenda at the First Annual Security Summit July 1 at the Hilton San Diego Resort. The event drew about 150 government officials, equipment manufacturers, integrators, academics and law enforcement representatives.

“We are living in a time when we don’t have the luxury of operating in parallel. It is essential we network and collaborate,” said GE Security Vice President of Global Marketing Jim Clark during his keynote presentation. “For our part, we want to make sure we are not creating technology just for technology’s sake. Although something might be really cool, we are focused on growth and moving forward, which requires realistic, real-world solutions.”

Throughout the conference, which dealt with policy issues and technology in equal measures, panelists stressed the importance of sharing information across organizations and jurisdictions. Speakers acknowledged San Diego as a model region for the rest of the nation due to its uniqueness as both a border and major port city.

“We need to have a system of systems approach with overarching architecture of operations,” asserted Lockheed Martin Corp. Vice President of Homeland Security Systems Terry Kees, who sat on a panel that also included executives from BAE Systems, SAIC and Northrop Grumman Corp. “We need to achieve operations that reinforce information while minimizing duplication.”

The Security Summit’s organizers—CCAT, ProFinance Associates Inc. and Townsend Inc.—plan to make the conference an annual event and to open it up to atttendees and speakers from across the United States. For more information, visit www.thesecuritysummit.com.

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