Bustling ISC West Show Floor Creates Lots of Buzz, Positive Energy Among Attendees
LAS VEGAS — With 180 new exhibitors and more than 1,000 brands on the show floor, this year’s ISC West trade show experienced a 40% increase compared to last year, according to Reed Exhibitions. Held April 10-12 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, ISC West provides business opportunities for security dealers, systems integrators, manufacturers and other service providers.
“It was really fun to be part of the crowd because there was a lot of energy,” Keith Jentoft, president of RSI Video Technologies, tells SSI. “I think the economy is turning enough so the people were more optimistic this year than they have been in a lot of years.”
Nelson Barreto, director of enterprise security sales for Diebold, was also impressed with the increase in traffic, and observed that video analytics seemed to be atop of most end users’ minds at the show.
“I’ve seen a lot more customers out here and really engaging in the conversations and looking at the different types of technologies, such as analytics,” he tells SSI. “It’s really big and they’re integrating with the different types of manufacturers so it’s really positive. It just shows that, maybe not today, but perhaps over the next three years, the growth for the security industry is there.”
Elsewhere at the show, Innovative Security Design’s (ISD) Lynx edge computing platform for video surveillance earned the Best New Product honor as part of the annual Security Industry Association (SIA) New Product Showcase (NPS). In all, more than 84 products and technologies were entered into the annual awards program.
Despite product release announcements from a majority of exhibitors, numerous attendees noted that they didn’t see many technology innovations on the show floor.
“From a technology standpoint, I didn’t see the next iPad,” Kevin Engelhardt, vice president and general manager for Diebold, tells SSI. “I wasn’t expecting to see it, and I’m glad I didn’t see it. I’m glad [I saw] a sustainable offering out there that people can actually start to get their arms around and our customers can understand the value of it.”
Of course, technology wasn’t the only thing that attendees looked forward to seeing. Many participated in SIA Education @ISC West, a three-day education program with multiple tracks designed to help attendees choose which sessions best fit their needs. Part of the series featured a State of the Industry presentation, titled, “What Will It Take to be a 2020 Security Leader?” It was a call to action for more persuasive solution innovations and business case studies. The educational series also included sessions on the cloud, and for the first time, as special School Safety Series, which focused on K-12 and higher education campus security.
Other highlights included The Open Network Video Interface Network (ONVIF) hosted a panel discussion, moderated by SSI Editor-in-Chief Scott Goldfine that stressed the importance of industry interoperability standards. Additionally, the Mission 500 Security 5/2K Race, which had more than 400 participants, raised more than $90,000 for children in need in India, Mexico and Tanzania.
SSI also hosted its annual SAMMY Awards and the SSI Hall of Fame induction ceremony on the eve of ISC. Be sure to see which installing security contractors took home sales & marketing, business and installation honors, with detailed coverage to come in the June and July issues.
Ashley Willis is associate editor for SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION. She can be reached at (310) 533-2419.
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