A Busy ISC West Excites &amp; Inspires

Acrobats, altered perceptions, screaming, and other absurd occurrences marked an event held last month in Las Vegas. It wasn’t a new Cirque du Soleil show — it was the 2015 ISC West tradeshow and conference held at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, featuring many unique demonstrations and events. This year’s show featured more than 1,000 exhibitors displaying more than 10,000 products, both on a main floor and inside a large-area Global Expo.

For at least the first two show days, April 15 and April 16, the aisles were packed full of attendees, and exhibitors experienced steady streams of show traffic in their booths. “Thanks @ISCEvents! Great foot traffic at our @UTCBIS booth. #ISCW15” tweeted @Interlogix at the close of ISC West on April 17.

Tweeted @middleatlantic the same day, “Last day of #ISCW15 and we are still going strong at booth 22075.”

Show producer, Reed Exhibitions, did not have attendance figures available at press time. However, Jason Bartelstone, marketing associate at Reed, commented generally on the overall positive experience most people had during the show. “ISC West ‘15 was very successful and, most importantly, we received an immense amount of positive feedback from both attendees and exhibitors.”

With fanfare befitting such a great security show, the grand opening ceremony ensured that ISC West 2015 began on a high note. Sponsored by Allegion for the fifth consecutive year, the ceremony included the Clark High School honor squad, presentation of the colors by Las Vegas American Legion Post 76, and a who’s who of security gathered together to kick off the event.

Before ISC West opened, Ed Several, senior vice president of ISC Events, said, “ISC West 2015 is shaping up to be a great event. The SIA Education@ISC conference program is at an all-time high. The show floor is the second largest show in history while attendance is shaping up to be larger than last year.”

SIA Education@ISC offered more than 60 sessions and workshops that provided critical information on the industry’s most important trends and technologies. Some of those sessions on key industry issues and advancements included PSIA’s new Physical Logical Access Interoperability (PLAI) platform; a video verification symposium and reception; and a panel on finding — and keeping — quality employees.

MorphoWAVE from Safran Morpho took the top honor at the Security Industry Association’s 2015 New Product Showcase (NPS), winning the coveted Best New Product Award at the NPS awards ceremony during ISC West. MorphoWave is the market’s first biometric access solution featuring high-speed touchless fingerprint matching. Users simply wave a hand over the MorphoWave sensor to be identified.

“Each year, the companies competing in SIA’s New Product Showcase at ISC West present the leading-edge security solutions that are shaping the industry,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “These new technologies and solutions are the drivers that are moving the security industry forward, and I congratulate Safran Morpho on their win at this year’s NPS.”

In addition, the Judges’ Choice Award was presented to IC Realtime for its IC720 360x360 Video Surveillance Camera product. The NPS judges presented awards in 25 product and service categories, and they presented six honorable mention awards in six categories.

Since its inception in 1979, the NPS has been the security industry’s premier awards-based marketing program. This year’s NPS Program had 110 entries from 88 companies. SDM’s senior editor, Karyn Hodgson, served as an NPS judge.

Recognizing the growing involvement and expanded role of IT in security, ISC West added the IT Security Pavilion, bringing together a number of leaders in the space in one convenient location.

The event also included a New Exhibitor Pavilion, the Global Expo, and an expanded Public Safety and Security Expo.

Hundreds of attendees hit the streets during ISC West for the annual Security 5K/2K run/walk to benefit Mission 500, an organization that supports children and communities in crisis through WorldVision. This year’s event raised $90,000 to support the cause.SDM’s Associate Editor, Tim Scally; Online Media Manager, Jackie Bean; and Senior Marketing Manager, Kevin Hackney, all participated.

Some of the stand-out technology trends seen at ISC West this year included:

Cloud video and access control solutions.
Demonstrations and talks about the “Internet of Things.”
Wireless options for everything from access control, to video to intrusion and fire.
Advancements in video bandwidth reduction.
More choices in multi-sensor cameras.
Sustainable electronic access control and video products.
An abundance of connected home products and companies, including several with a DIY business model.
Big data/business intelligence.
Intelligent access control products.
Solutions for very specific applications
A move toward interoperability and open platforms.
Smarter cameras that distinguish between important and insignificant events.