Showtime surplus

Summer is in full swing if you hadn’t guessed by the extreme temperatures surfacing everywhere (unless you happen to live in Antarctica), and somehow, we’re still in full swing of conference season.

Actually, scratch that, I might be wrong. It occurs to me that we might not ever truly be OUT of conference season in the security industry. I mean, ISC West was only a scant few months ago in April, and then in May we had PSA TEC. We started out at the beginning of June with the Electronic Security Expo (ESX) in Louisville and on the upcoming schedule there’s several smaller events and award shows like Security LEADher in the next week and AcceleRISE in August. Then we’re back to the Global Security Exchange (GSX) in September.

I think what I’m trying to say is that the security industry must really all love each other because we’re never parted for very long. I mean I’m not at all of those, it’s an exhaustive list and almost certainly an incomplete one and I salute any of the road warriors who can maintain the pace required to hit most of the security events in any given year, because it’s exhausting.

It’s also questionable, I think, how valuable it is. Don’t get me wrong, I think most of these events are fantastic and hosted by truly wonderful people in the industry. However, I recall hearing Editor Cory Harris this year discuss at length the headache of scheduling occurring with these shows, with two important events stepping on each other’s toes regarding dates during which they occur.

If we’re having trouble fitting shows into the 365 opportunities we’re given in a year, then I think it’s time to consolidate. Just spit balling but maybe we could start with awards shows, or heck the conferences themselves. I already have company reps tell me they’re saving the good stuff for the next show, lets just do it then guys! Everyone will come away from it a little less jet-lagged.

If you’re reading this, I also want to give a shout out to an article by Cory this week with Pye-Barker CEO Bart Proctor discussing the company’s aggressive acquisition schedule and the future of that company, and it’s a great read.

Till next time, Super Friends.