My, how you have grown

I’m channeling Van Morrison for this week’s blog after spending the last few days at PSA TEC 2024, a conference being fittingly held in “Big D.”

Why do I say, “fittingly held?” Well, they say that everything is bigger in Texas, and I’m in Dallas, a city whose nickname is “Big D.” What I’m trying to say is that PSA TEC has gotten bigger each year since I started coming to the integrator-based conference, and it doesn’t seem like it will stop growing in the years to come. 

Approximately 500 integrators and PSA technology partners have assembled this week at the Hyatt Regency Dallas for PSA’s annual education and networking get-together.

PSA TEC began on Monday with the Welcome Reception. I admit I was a bit tired after getting up at 5:30 a.m. following four hours of sleep and then getting on a three-and-a-half-hour flight from NYC to Dallas. But after entering the big ballroom where the Welcome Reception was being held and seeing the huge throng of integrators and technology partners eating, drinking, and networking, my eyes widened as it was apparent to me that PSA TEC was THE place to be this week.

My Tuesday morning began with an in-depth discussion on “Leveraging AI for Good,” delivered by AI futurist Zack Kass as he delved into the intersection of artificial intelligence advancements and their practical applications in the business landscape, a topic that is definitely of interest in the security space.

Lee Odess, a panelist on our upcoming Access Control webcast June 11, was a busy man Tuesday morning, conducting a fireside chat with HID CEO Bjorn Lidefelt on the future of access control and then moderating a panel discussion on “Unlocking the Inevitable: Strategies for New Value Creation” with Andrew Lanning, Kasia Hanson, Shawn Ruddo and Leigh Creel.

Then it was time to hand out some awards, and time for me to hit the stage. Speaking of the stage, what an amazing backdrop we had for the awards luncheon and the general sessions, another example of how much PSA TEC has grown as a can’t-miss event for integrators. Kudos to the stage designers, for sure!

For the third straight year, I had the honor of announcing the winners of the PSA Security Network/Security Systems News Integrator of the Year and Bill Bozeman Awards during PSA’s technology partner awards luncheon. 

The winners are posted on our website, but in case you haven’t had a chance to check it out, here’s a recap of our 2024 winners – AK Technologies captured the Integrator of the Year award in the small business category (up to $5 million). Integrator of the Year in the medium business category ($6 million to $25 million) went to Alscan, Inc., and Tech Systems, Inc. received the award for Integrator of the Year in the large business category (over $25 million in revenue).

It was then time to present the Bill Bozeman Award, named for the former longtime CEO of PSA. Unfortunately, Bill was unable to attend this year’s PSA TEC (and we wish his wife Tracy a speedy recovery), but I was honored to present the award named in his honor.

And the winner of the Bill Bozeman Award was – drumroll please – SAGE Integration! COO John Nemerofsky and his team submitted a tremendous presentation that really overwhelmed the judges (myself included) and was truly deserving of receiving the overall prize. Congrats to John and his crew!

Rather than get into the nuts and bolts of sessions I attended, I’ll leave everyone in suspense as you’ll get a comprehensive recap of some of the notable PSA TEC sessions – M&A trends in the security integration industry, and the always popular “State of the Industry” panel discussion – in the coming days on our website and on our social media channels.

For now, I’ll keep with the Van Morrison theme and say that I’ll be “skippin’ and a-jumpin’” back home. PSA TEC, my, how you have grown.