Inaugural SecurityNext conference a huge success

As I fly back home after an incredible four days in NOLA, highlights from our inaugural and highly successful SecurityNext conference, held Feb. 9-11 at the Royal Sonesta hotel on Bourben Street, keep dancing through my head. As someone who loves music and is inspired by those who learn to hone their craft and share their talents with others, it was a sheer pleasure to soak in the sights, sounds and heartbeat of N'awlins … as they say here.

With sounds of trumpets and trombones permeating the air and drifting into the hotel and session and meeting spaces, it was also a sheer pleasure to hear some the top thought leaders in our industry, who have honed their craft within security, share their talents and ideas with others.

From the opening networking reception on Sunday evening to the closing tour of the NOLA Real Time Crime Center, attendees were treated to a comprehensive learning, networking — and absolutely fun and exciting — conference experience, evidenced by the overwhelmingly positive evaluations from attendees. In fact, almost all said they would recommend the conference to others and would be coming back next year.

“If you want to be a part of this industry's future, you must attend SecurityNext,” said Andrew Lanning, Integrated Security Technology cofounder and 2019 recipient of the Security Industry Association's Jay Hauhn Award.

Mike King, manager, hosted video for Axis Communications said, “A must attend for companies wanting to understand the next major shift in the security industry.”

Some of the highlights of SecurityNext 2020 include:
• An opening welcome reception that gave attendees a chance to connect, network and plan for fun nights out on the town in preparation for a full two days of learning.
• Two keynotes, including Intel's Global GM for IoT Solutions Sameer Sharma, and NOLA Real-time Crime Center IT Manager George Barlow Brown.
• Comprehensive education program including six panel discussions and five presentations featuring 29 speakers who are top thought leaders in security today.
• The “40 under 40” Award Reception on Monday evening, sponsored by the Security Industry Association, that celebrated the class of 2019 winners, including integrator, consultant and end users.
• The first-ever Legend Award ceremony for inaugural recipients Bill Bozeman and Jim Henry, presented by Andrew Lanning (to Bozeman) and ESIConvergent's Pierre Bourgeix (to Henry).
• A tabletop exhibit room highlighting the latest security technologies, products and services, from cloud and data analytics to machine learning and AI.
• A tour of NOLA's Real-time Crime Center given by day two keynote George Barlow Brown.

Check back to our site in the coming days and weeks as we provide more in-depth coverage of all the exciting things that happened at SecurityNext 2020!