ISC West 2017 sees record attendance

LAS VEGAS—Many of the companies Security Systems News talked with on the ISC West 2017 show floor commented on the good attendance. Following the show, Sherida Sessa, industry vice president for ISC Events, told SSN, “All of the metrics are up.”

The show had more than 30,000 attendees, a 3 percent increase from previous years and a new milestone for the show, according to Sessa. The show also had more than 1,000 exhibitors, more than 200 of which were new to the show this year.

Will Wise, group VP for Reed Exhibitions' security portfolio, is new to the organization. He joined Reed weeks before ISC West 2017. Prior to his current role, Wise worked with IoT media, research and events. “The energy and commitment across the show is what really stood out to me, and how many elements come together—from the big exhibitors to the start-ups,” he said.

Over the years, the show has consistently focused on industry trends and new technologies that impact the security space, according to Sessa. “The makeup of exhibitors that you see on the show floor is very different than what you've seen in the past. [We've] definitely still remained true to our core; our access control, our video, our camera manufacturers, our alarm manufacturers. � But, we've really added to that base with some very new and interesting technologies,” Sessa said.

“We're at a very exciting time in security in general. There's a lot that's changing, a lot of new technology that's available—just what we saw last week: with all of the artificial intelligence that's coming online and especially the drones and robots,” she said. “It's really the tip of the iceberg. I think we're just seeing the beginning of it now and it's really going to bloom and flourish over the next few years.”

Wise said that IoT offerings need to be defined more by their vertical market. “That's, thankfully, what's been starting to happen a lot more [in] the last year,” he said.

The show had a good turnout for its SIA education portion. “A lot of the sessions we had on the convergence of physical- and cybersecurity were really, really popular,” Wise said.

The show's SIA New Products Showcase, or NPS, also saw a record number of submissions this year, with more then 120 entries. In addition to the Best New Product award and the Judge's Choice Award, the NPS judges presented awards in more than 30 product and service categories and honorable mention awards in three categories.

Other aspects of the show went well. Off the show floor, the 8^th annual Security 5k/2k—which benefits Mission 500 and was started by Security Systems News—raised more than $125,000. This year, the event had 674 registrants between those walking the 2k and runners for the 5k.