ISC West 2016: Video surveillance, cloud and catching up customers

LAS VEGAS—A majority of respondents to Security Systems News' latest News Poll spent most of their time at ISC West 2016 looking at new technologies and speaking to vendors, and many said that they talked about video surveillance the most.

Larry Gladhill, global security technology and projects manager for Biogen and an SSN “20 under 40” Class of 2015 award winner, said carefully planned his time at ISC West. �“I spent the first day scoping out the larger companies and meeting with existing vendors/suppliers. The second and third day were reserved for finding new solutions and new technologies that may address some issues on my punch list,” he said.

ISC West, the security industry's largest annual show, this year had 1,072 exhibiting companies and brands and almost 30,000 attendees.

Fifty-one percent of readers said they spent the most time looking at new technologies and checking out vendors, while 43 percent said they were focused on meeting with customers and working on deals. Five percent said they were most involved with the educational sessions.

“While looking at new technologies is important for us at the show, we have more productive meetings with industry people. Developing the network of connections from all over the world is important to us,” Guy Morgante, president of managed services for Northland Controls, wrote in.

Sixty-two percent said that video surveillance dominated technology discussions at the show, while one-third of respondents pointed to cloud-based technologies as the hottest topic. Five percent said cybersecurity, or the Connected Security Expo @ ISC West, was the most talked about subject.

One respondent said he would like more show-floor time and lower-priced educational options.� “I will continue to attend this convention; however, I thought the educational seminars were over priced and the exhibit days should be increased or have more hours of exhibiting,” said Eddie Buckley, president of Sheffield, Ala.-based Certified Alarm.

“[I] looked at new central station options as well as new products from my main vendors,” said Craig Wohl, president at CW Security Service, based in Dublin, Pa.

Most respondents, 86 percent, said their companies sent “a few” people to the show. Nine percent said they brought a quarter of their staff, and 5 percent said most members of their company attended.