In the Shadow of 9/11, ISC East Shines
NEW YORK — Opening its doors on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, International Security Conference (ISC) East provided an appropriate stage for many in the security industry to gather and put on view the wares and willpower they provide in helping forge a more secure future for us all.
Event organizer Reed Exhibitions reports about 11,000 security professionals filled the main floor at New York’s Jacob Javits Convention Center — a turnout fueling credence in the event’s resurgence after much tumult in recent years. Indeed, Security Sales & Integration spoke with many vendors and attendees during the two-day conference, a great majority of whom expressed positive feedback during the show.
“Attendance was better than expected. It certainly exceeded my expectations,” said Mike Fisher, senior vice president of business development for Criticom Monitoring Services.
A good deal of ambivalence about attendance began to swirl in the days preceding the show’s opening. Some worried a quadruple whammy —pending thunderstorms, the Jewish Roshashona holiday, the 9/11 anniversary and the closely calendared ASIS Int’l seminar in Las Vegas — could derail many attendees’ plans to be present at the conference.
“Despite all that, this has been a good show. I thought I was going to be in here talking to myself,” Fisher said.
Industry players devoting a large presence on the exhibit floor included ADI, Altronix, HID Global, Honeywell, NAPCO Security Group and Speco Technologies, just to name a few. Elsewhere, Pelco’s Mobile Product Showcase (MPS) truck, parked in front of the convention center, served as the company’s exhibition space.
In all, more than 400 manufacturers displayed the latest in electronic security technologies, including access control, alarms and monitoring, biometrics, CCTV, fire/life safety and more. For the second year, although this time sharing the same floor, ISC East was co-located with IT-centric Infosecurity.
Many attendees SSI spoke with, such as George De Simone and Debra Foley, walked the exhibition floor with the intent to familiarize themselves with a broad range of technologies. De Simone and Foley are members of a New York Army National Guard unit assigned to security detail in the transit sector. They were checking out a mobile video surveillance tool in the form of a flashlight when SSI caught up with them.
“We’re not looking for anything specific. But there might be a technology that we can use as individuals or bring back to our group,” De Simone said.
Many security professionals also took advantage of the educational sessions taught by the IP Institute, while members of the Security Industry Association (SIA) and the National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) took part in their respective group meetings and activities.
Orlando Oliveras, a sales manager with Alarman Security in Manhattan, said he has been attending the conference many years to help stay ahead of the steep technology learning curve.
“Technology changes so fast, every six months. It’s important to be here to see how technology is evolving,” he said. “This is how I stay informed.”
Frank Santamorena, a Physical Security Professional who works in ASSA ABLOY’s Integrated Solutions Specialist Group, summed up ISC East as an event replete with “men and women with a great deal of integrity committed to securing life and property.” And an abundance of sales leads and long hours aside, he says, what’s not to like? “It’s New York!”
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