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| EMagazine Volume 6 Issue 2 Apr/May 2001 |
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An ISC Odyssey I can say, unequivocally, that ISC EXPO/West 2001, was the most dynamic that I have attended in my three decades in the industry. Perhaps it is because I was able for the first time to see the show from my new perspective, but I really believe that there were a number of new factors that contributed to the high quality and diverse nature of this years offering. |
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For years most of the casinos in Las Vegas have offered "all you can eat" buffets. Obviously, this appeal to a broad spectrum of eclectic gustatory preferences has been a lure that expands the potential for traffic and allows the casino an opportunity to market other entertainment and gaming attractions to the public.
International
Security Conference (ISC EXPO/West), http://isc.reedexpo.com
similarly, offered a veritable "Smorgasbord" of attractions at the
conference and exhibition events held in Las Vegas on April 3-6, as a result,
conference sessions, meeting rooms, training courses and the exhibit hall were
overflowing from early until late, every day.
I might add, right here, that I've been attending ISC- Expos for more than 30 years ... First as a manufacturer who exhibited products, then from 1996 to 2000 as the Executive Director of the Security Industry Association, which sponsors the ISC-Expos, and this year, for the first time, as a consulting member of the ISC show management team. These different perspectives have allowed me to gain a more complete view and appreciation of the full range of opportunities available to those who attend. While I was a manufacturer, I was primarily concerned with showing my products to existing and potential customers (primarily alarm dealers), but over the years, I began to recognize the show as an opportunity to not only network with my target market group, but with my contemporaries and competitors, as well. So, in a sense, I finally saw it as an opportunity to educate myself , although, I must admit, I remained ignorant of the Conference Program, per se, until recently. As I became more involved in the trade associations, the possibility of strategic alliances also became evident, and many of my more effective business decisions were made at, or as a result of attending ISC-West Expos. In fact, the creation of a joint-venture company, and the ultimate merger of my company with another ISC exhibitor were both begun in conversations at ISC-Expos.
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This year, freed of my responsibilities as an exhibitor or as a director for SIA, I finally was able to realize and appreciate the entirety of ISC-West: For attendees seeking educational seminars, including opportunities for CEU credits, the Conference program offered a wide variety of subjects beginning with a "Critical Incident Management Symposium" on Tuesday, April 3, the day before the exhibits opened. I attended this symposium, and found it extremely interesting and educational. Curt Crum, a crime prevention specialist with the Boise Police Department, skillfully moderated the morning session. Speakers included Sheriff Pat Sullivan from Arapahoe County Colorado, who was one of the first law enforcement personnel to arrive at the scene at the Columbine High School shootout. Sheriff Sullivan revealed some information about this event that had not been presented by the media. Other speakers included Larry Ginsberg, an attorney who specializes in the legal aspects of workplace violence, John Lane, a partner in the Omega Threat Management Group, Steve Harris, Chief of Police in Redmond, WA, and Don McCleery, President of Public safety Technology. In addition to the interesting presentations that this panel gave, hard copy handouts were made available on "Preventing and Responding to School Violence:"and "Workplace Violence: Prevention, Reaction Recovery and Liability".
These
documents, along with hard copies of the presentation materials themselves could
comprise the beginning of a valuable library of materials for anyone involved in
issues of school and/or workplace violence. I interviewed a number of the
attendees and found that the audience was almost equally divided between
law-enforcement and private/public security officials, most of whom are also
ASIS members. The afternoon session of the "Violence" symposium was
equally professional and moderated by Radford Jones who is well known by the
security industry. Rad, from the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State
University has moderated numerous seminars and meetings on the subject of
Critical Incident planning and response, and his panel included Jerome Miller of
Daimler Chrysler, Ken Scotford of General Dynamics and Lt. Don McLellan ,PHD and
CPP from the Oakland County Sheriff's office. This panel also presented many
anecdotal examples of violence in the corporate workplace as well as in
educational and public places, discussed how each was handled and then
enumerated the lessons learned from each, and how subsequent responses were
modified accordingly to become more effective.
In between the morning and afternoon sessions of the Critical Incident Symposium, I shepherded a group of about 50 on one of the four casino security tours that had been arranged. My tour was at the MGM Grand, and I was amazed at the deployment of more than 3000 cameras, 500 recorders, multiplexers and CPU's that are used within their security surveillance system. Anyone who is in the business of CCTV would have learned a great deal about sales and system opportunities in operations of this size. Although I hurried back to the convention hall, I found that I had already missed conference sessions on Access Control, IT Security, Fire Detection, Digital CCTV and several other topics that I had highlighted in my program directory.
On Wednesday morning, I reported to the hall at 7:15 AM to help greet the attendees at a keynote event presented by the California Alarm Association. "Industry Incorrect" consisted of a panel of industry experts challenging topics once considered to be immutable. One example: Standards….. Tim Whall, president of the newly acquired SecurityLink said that quality products, installed correctly, obviate the need for industry standards. This view is not only refreshing to hear from a leader of one of our largest national companies, but , if followed by the industry, could save thousands of trees! As I left the kickoff event, I found that again, I had filled my "dance card" with more "must attend" highlights than I could possibly manage in one day. While I was able to sit in on sessions dealing with Biometric Devices, Asset Management, Residential Integration, and False Alarm Reduction, I was unable to attend Duane Paulson's class on What Drives Consumers to buy Home Security Systems.
As it was , I was hard pressed to make it to SIA's New Product Showcase awards program where fifty-eight different products vied for honors in ten different categories, and evaluated by a panel of distinguished and prominent judges. Besides my interest in seeing these innovative products, the champagne and hors d'oeuvres that were served as part of the ceremony were mighty welcome at the end of along day. I also welcomed the opportunity to talk to some of the NPS participants who were uniformly enthusiastic because of the exposure that this program affords them both at the ISC and in pre-show and post-show publicity, press coverage and publication in foreign security publications.
On
Thursday, I again tried to divide my time judiciously between Conference
sessions, a couple of SIA meetings: (Forum Committee)( Show Planning), and the
Saints Foundation. One of the conference sessions I did attend was on Digital
Video Recording. After my tour of the MGM casino surveillance facilities on
Tuesday, this was a revelation to me. At the MGM a full third of their security
room is taken up with tape storage….. This to accommodate a seven-day cycling.
When they convert to digital TV, as they surely will, all this space will be
regained .
Unfortunately, I had to choose between John Rose's talk on "How to Identify, Attract and Hire the Right People, and How to keep Them" and Bob Cook's class on "Electric Lock Selection". I won't reveal here which one I attended, but I will admit that I was able to sneak in a much-needed short catnap. This stood me in good stead, since I had made arrangements for evening meetings that kept me up until long after my accustomed bedtime which usually occurs during the first commercial on "Larry King Live".
Finally on Friday morning I was able to "walk the show". This has been a favorite activity of mine over the years. I love walking down the aisles and running into friends that I have known for years and catching up on the latest developments and/or rumors,. I also enjoy talking to the exhibitors about what they like and don't like about the show. Although I was able to talk to only about 15% of the more than 600 exhibitors, using the survey science of "projection", I believe I can safely say that the exhibitors were uniformly delighted with the program format, exhibit layout, and particularly, the traffic in the Exhibition Hall…. And rightly so: Pre-registration approached 15,000, and on the first two days, I counted about 11,500 in the hall.
I can also say, unequivocally, that ISC EXPO/West 2001, was the most dynamic that I have attended in my three decades in the industry. Perhaps it is because I was able for the first time to see the show from my new perspective, but I really believe that there were a number of new factors that contributed to the high quality and diverse nature of this years offering:
- The Conference Schedule under Cheryl Yeager (ISC staff) was planned and executed impeccably. The topics were timely and the speakers were interesting and knowledgeable.
- Co-locating Home Automation with the Security Exhibits not only enhances and enlarges the scope of the exhibits and the conference program, but it recognizes the convergence of these technologies and predicts the merging future direction of both.
- Training sessions presented by individual manufacturers, SIA Interest Groups and the NBFAA were sought after and well received by the dealers who attended. Many of whom believe that more training should be offered at the ISC's.
- The Show Daily, managed by Nikki Radder and Andrea Crossetta (ISC staff) is a useful recap of what happened the day before and what's coming up today…I found this to be very helpful. A number of attendees, also commented to me favorably about this new feature.
- The in-hall meeting rooms and "Club-ISC" are also welcome innovations… ISC is an ideal place for networking. Networking requires spaces where people can sit down and talk to each other, finally, we had it! .
Although as a former exhibitor and "association person", I was able to easily relate and compare this year's ISC exhibits with previous ones, as a first-time evaluator of the overall I was most surprised and impressed by the ecumenical composition of the attendees at the sessions other than exhibits.
Truly, this was an event that lured security professionals from the entire gamut of our industry to the same table and, as I have already said…there was plenty for everyone!
As I collapsed at the end of each day in my room, watching replays of Tiger Woods shots on TV, I had the thought it was symbolic that the Masters golf tournament started during ISC-West this year. Just as golf recognizes the Masters, US Open, British Open and PGA as their "major " tournaments, we in the security industry can make an analogy that equates our "majors" as: IFSEC with the British Open, ISC-East with the US Open, and ASIS with the PGA…..This analogy would then logically identify ISC-West as our Masters tournament. Certainly it was a masterful production this year….. As an "old pro", I can't wait to tee it up again next year.
