The show was lauded by many as being quite successful. This note examines how, based on interviews with a dozen of exhibitors.
ISC West 2022 has ended its 4-day run on March 25, held for the first time in its regular March slot since the outbreak of the pandemic. The show was lauded by many as being quite successful. This note examines how, based on interviews with a dozen of exhibitors.
ISC West was held from March 22 to 25 at the Venetian Expo (formerly Sands Expo) in Las Vegas. According to show organizers, this year there were nearly 20,000 in attendance, a year-over-year growth of 88 percent which they said was “record-breaking.” It needs to be pointed out that the show
last year, held in July, was much smaller in scale due to COVID. The show was
postponed and then cancelled in 2020.
Indeed exhibitors we interviewed attested to the success of the show.
“ISC 2022 was at full capacity as far as exhibitors and conferences which were arranged. The show floor was full and all the companies had full size booth which were fully staffed. ZKTECO had 18 people from USA, Mexico and Chile at the booth. We had made lot of pre-appointments with our customers, partners and manufacturer representatives who showed up at our booth,” said Manish Dalal, President of ZKTeco USA.
“We were overall quite pleased with ISC West this year. It was wonderful to see our colleagues, partners, and end-users again, and we felt that attendance was strong. There were also ample opportunities to have formal and informal meetings, as well as a variety of events that helped bring the industry together,” said Matt Winn, Senior Director for PR and Corporate Communications at HID Global.
“It was gratifying to be back at ISC West after a long break. It seems like the industry as a whole felt that way. The showroom floor was bustling with manufacturers, dealers, and integrators and I enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces while also meeting the new players in the security industry. The feel of the show was vibrant and diverse, which I think bodes well for the industry as a whole,” said Ron Rothman, President of
Turing AI.
Many agreed that the show this year was completely different from last one.
“This year, ISC West attendance was much closer to a typical year. The strong turnout and attendee enthusiasm seemed to indicate that people are eager to get back to traveling and face-to-face meetings. Overall, the quantity, and the quality, of attendees was very good. In the Axis booth, our team welcomed visitors from 48 US states and more than a dozen countries,” said Larry Newman, Senior Director of Sales for Americas at Axis Communications.
“ISC West 2021 was made up mostly of pre-set meetings, the show floor had minimal traffic, and Milestone did not have a booth. I went to that show for the preset meetings and spent only a few minutes on the show the floor. ISC West 2022 — it was the industry’s ‘we’re back’ party and the show was busy! It was so exciting to be there and reconnect with so many people,” said Eric Moe, Director of Sales for North America at Milestone Systems.
“ISC West 2022 was larger in attendance compared to 2021, and the OPTEX sales team was pleased with number and quality of visitors in attendance as well. The show floor was consistently brimming with foot traffic which was very encouraging. We also noticed more international presence in attendees this year as well, especially from the Latin American region at the OPTEX booth,” said Jeremy Hayes, VP of Sales and Marketing at OPTEX.
Indeed there was a fair amount of international visitors, despite ongoing travel restrictions imposed by certain countries amid COVID.
“The international presence was large. European companies like Bosch Building Technologies, Milestone Systems, Azena and MOBOTIX were in attendance, while Asian-based organizations including Hanwha Techwin, VIVOTEK, Ability Enterprise and LILIN participated. In addition, many U.S.-based companies such as Anixter|WESCO, Johnson Controls and Stanley Security exhibited their newest security offerings,” said Gijs van den Heuvel, Chair of Marketing at the Open Security & Safety Alliance (OSSA).
“It was refreshing to see the turnout at this year’s ISC West. We scanned more than double the number of badges in our booth vs. our last ISC West in 2019. The quality of attendees we spoke with was high – mostly owners and managers of security integration firms. We were also pleasantly surprised by the number of international attendees that came to our booth, with visitors from throughout Latin America, Europe, and Japan,” said Tom Buckley, Co-Founder of Qumulex.
COVID measures well-balanced
For health and safety purposes, organizers this year required all participants and staff to show proof of full vaccination or negative antigen/PCR test results. Wearing a mask was optional. Most exhibitors gave their approval of such measures.
“We felt the COVID measures taken this year were spot on, much better than last year when everyone had to undergo daily temperature checks. This year, we were able to use an app to validate vaccination status or register a negative COVID test. Once that was done, show attendees were given a bracelet to access to the exhibits which added to an increased sense of normalcy,” said Kyle Hurt, Senior Sales Director for USA at Genetec.
”The show’s COVID measures were a perfect balance between keeping people safe and making sure the event had enough attendees to be viable. The measures were not too strict; they were reasonable. The show did a great job of managing pre-show COVID testing/vaccine requirements through an app called Clear. The whole thing was well organized and provided some level of security. A show with mandatory masks wouldn’t have had the same impact — seeing people’s faces and interacting with them is a big part of why we go to these shows. Making masks optional was also a good option,” Moe said.
