The Middle Seat with ISC

2011-02-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

You’ve got to like it when a trip goes better than anticipated. Who would have known that row 35 on Delta Flt 165 from JFK to LAX was in effect a bulkhead as a result of seat spacing? The middle seat I was dreading ended up being one of the most comfortable seats I have ever had.

Thursday morning started with a run – my first run outside since early December – as I’m training for the NYC Half Marathon in March. My course took me along LAX, and as I ran literally beneath wide-bodied planes landing from overnight flights, I thought about how much my 3-year old would appreciate this experience. A treat for him is going to the regional airport near us to watch young pilots doing touch-and-go’s in their Cessna’s on the weekend.

Next, I met with the Inland Empire Chapter of the IAHSS at San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland, CA. Despite the daunting name (brought me back to my history class and thoughts of the Ottoman Empire), the group was very pleasant and very interested to hear about the end-user education we have planned at the newly branded ISC Premier Education Series at ISC West this year in Vegas. My thanks to Darren Morgan, Security Director at San Antonio Community Hospital (with me in picture), and Stuart ‘Fletch’ Fletcher, Corporate Director of Public Safety at Catholic Healthcare West, and President of the Inland Empire Chapter, for having me. It was an energetic meeting and one of the best attended IAHSS regional meetings I have been to with over 30 people.

I then met with the security team with the Office of General Services in LA. After a tour of their facility and a discussion about ISC West, it was off to the airport for the red-eye back to New York. Good news – I was able to get a bulkhead seat for the flight back. Bad news – those of us who call NY our home airport are a pretty aggressive bunch on flights. Very Darwinian!!!

2011-02-17T06:37:00.000-08:00

Recently, I have broadened my responsibilities to include taking personal ownership of ISC's high-value targeted attendee program. Let me tell you what this is all about. The program is the development of creating a productive and satisfying experience for senior-level security end-users who have not yet experienced the ISC events. Simply put, we want to fulfill the needs of security end-user professionals by offering them the networking, product preview and education that helps them develop both professionally and personally.

My goal is to reach out to about 400 security end-users – which frankly I think we will easily surpass. As I talk to and visit with senior security professionals, I am hearing that their budgets ARE coming back, that projects are moving forward – particularly in health care and retail – and that ISC West continues to be the best opportunity for security professionals to source and compare technologies, products and brands. Of specific interest to date has been video surveillance, access control and greater knowledge for IP. All of these topics are covered at www.iscwest this year at the ISC Premier Educational Series, April 5-7 in Las Vegas.

As I continue to visit with many of you, please stay connected to my travels and follow me here on this blog and on Twitter @iscvp. I will provide updates on who is exhibiting, who is attending and what we are doing in the coming weeks leading up to the show. If you have a question, please feel free to reach out to me directly at enichols@reedexpo.com, or to begin a conversation for the broader group on our LinkedIn group, ISC Events.

Now off to Los Angeles for some meetings…..flying in a middle seat – both ways!! Stayed tuned – I’ll let you know how it goes.

California Alarm Association Annual Convention a Hit!

2009-12-15T15:05:00.000-08:00

...I just returned from San Francisco from what looks to be my last trip of the year. ISC annually attends and supports the California Alarm Association’s Annual Convention – an event that has certainly grown beyond its geographic boundaries and truly serves as the last time for the Who’s Who in the security manufacturer and distribution markets to see one another before ISC West the following year. This year’s event appeared to be one of the biggest on record – certainly the largest I’ve attended – with over 300 people in attendance.

Congratulations for the success of the event certainly goes to California Alarm Association’s Executive Director, Jerry Lenander. In addition to his marketing consulting business, Syncomm, Jerry has been the Executive Director for the CAA for over 10 years and is personally responsible for the Annual Convention. With the help of strong member leadership, Jerry and his team have taken the event from a state supporting end-of-year event, to the alarm event for the western United States in the 4th quarter of the year. This year’s Keynote speaker was California Attorney General Jerry Brown, rumored by many to be making a run for Governor in the next election. Honored this year with the George A. Weinstock Award for his lifetime of service to the California Alarm Association was George DeMarco, founder and CEO of the Greater Alarm Company. Among the many in attendance were Richard Chace, CEO of the Security Industry Association (SIA), Ralph Sevinor, President of the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), and Mike Miller, President of the Electronic Security Association (ESA).

I’d also like to congratulate Matt Westphal, President of the California Alarm Association, and 3rd generation with Bay Alarm. The growth and success of both this event and the association has been in no small part due to Matt’s efforts.

This is my last blog for the year – I hope you’ve enjoyed them; thanks for reading them. Happy Holidays to you and yours from everyone at ISC!

Ed Nichols
Industry Vice President
Reed Exhibitions
ISC Events
203 840-5968
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Are we meeting the needs of Security End Users?

2009-12-01T08:06:00.000-08:00

...In reading this month’s industry trade journals, I was particularly drawn to Laura Stepanek, Editor of SDM Magazine’s, ‘Editor’s Angle’ with Lisa Roy, Vice President for Global Security and Fire Safety Solutions, with Johnson Controls. In her first question, Laura asks Ms. Roy if she feels that the security systems integration industry as a whole is meeting the needs of end users right now. Ms. Roy’s response, to paraphrase, is that today’s security end user is increasingly frustrated with the way security solutions are sold and delivered. While she feels that the industry has made progress in some areas, overall she feels that the industry has more work to do.

This was echoed by Lynn Mattice, former CSO at Boston Scientific and current Chairman, Board of Advisors, for the Security Executive Council, at the first-ever State of the Industry discussion panel at ISC East last month. Participating in the panel were Mike Miller, President of ESA (formerly NBFAA), Bill Bozeman, President and CEO of the PSA Security Network, Gordon Hope, Senior Vice President with Honeywell and current Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Security Industry Association (SIA), as well as Mr. Mattice. What Lynn was saying in representing the end user perspective on the panel, is that he feels that our discussions with security end users have been from our own perspectives - product features, camera resolution and RMR streams – all very important for him to understand, however, we are not fully understanding the security end users’ need for an overall solution to a problem. For example, when we go to buy a car, the Blu-tooth capabilities and the Sirius satellite radio are great features, much better than a standard FM/AM radio with a cassette player (do they even make cassettes anymore?), however, we ultimately are looking for a car that is safe, reliable and affordable. Are we spending too much time addressing the features and benefits and not explaining how we will provide a solution to the end users’ need?

‘From what we have seen, many end users are frustrated with the way security solutions are sold and delivered today,’ was the quote by Ms. Roy in the call-out in Laura’s article. We have heard this from many different sources, but what are we doing about it?

Ed Nichols
Industry Vice President
Reed Exhibitions
ISC Events
203 840-5968
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ISC West Recognized as a "Fastest 50" Growing Trade Show

2009-11-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

...I spent this past weekend in Houston at Tradeshow Week’s Fastest 50 Annual Awards presentation. Tradeshow Week, a Reed owned sister publication, created the Fastest 50 – recognizing the fastest 50 growing domestic trade shows annually – in 2002. As the economy, the tradeshow industry, and business travel in general, were severely affected by the events of September 11, Vice-President & Associate Publisher Nancy Walker and her team created an awards weekend that recognized those events that were successful in finding the means to grow in those difficult times. The awards have been presented for the past 7 years.

The weekend kicks off with a Welcome Reception on Friday night, followed by executive panels on Saturday – discussing the latest issues facing the tradeshow industry, the use of social media, virtual tradeshows, blogs, Twitter and third party audits. Third party audits are an issue I am very passionate about, and shared my opinions with industry peers, as I absolutely see it as our responsibility to be transparent in providing all of our participants’ factual information around the product that we provide to our exhibiting customers - qualified security industry professionals like you. My feeling is that audits are vitally important; now in a down economy more than ever; when the news isn’t always going to be as rosy – but the truth is just as necessary.

I’d like to congratulate another of our Reed Exhibitions events for taking home the award for the #1 fastest growing consumer show - the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), serving the consumer electronic gaming market. Our Senior Vice President, Greg Topalian, and my peer, Lance Fensterman, have done a wonderful job in building on the success of this popular event. I’d also like to congratulate the entire ISC team here at Reed Exhibitions, as ISC West was recognized as the only event to be one of the Fastest 50 growing trade shows in America every year since the award’s inception – 7 years straight. That is due entirely to an incredible team that I work with here…and because of all of you.

To all of you who have been supporting us each year, and to those who plan to in the future – thank you.

Ed Nichols
Industry Vice President
Reed Exhibitions
ISC Events
203 840-5968
www.iscwest.com
www.isceast.com
www.isc365.com
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ISC East Recap

2009-11-04T06:29:00.000-08:00

...In a year when success has been measured by how far down or off business has been, and with flat being the new up, this year's ISC East event was the shot in the arm the industry needed going into 2010. Raw attendee numbers have us up slightly in number of show floor attendees (excluding exhibitors), however, we will again audit those numbers and have something official within the next 6 weeks. For a look at what others had to say about the show, please visit these links:

Security Systems News - ISC East surprises with traffic
Security Products Magazine - New York, In Full Glory

Building on this attendee success, you will be seeing and hearing much more from us as we continue our strategy to rebuild ISC East, continuing our partnerships with industry groups around education, continuing targeted attendee growth relative to growing vertical markets for end-users - government, healthcare, education and retail, and continue to work with our exhibitors to contain exhibit costs and ensure they realize the value of the audience attending ISC East via our Lead Guarantee program and appointment setting initiatives.

I'd like to thank everyone who supported us this year and made ISC East the success that it was. Particularly, I'd like to thank first-year ISC Marketing Director Amie Cangelosi, and her marketing team of Kelly Higgins, Patrick Parnoff, Toni Corvi, Danielle Aposhian, Jenn Terentiuk, and Kaitlyn Martin. In a year when all of us can appreciate the difficulty of growing a piece of the business - in this case our attendance - my hats off to all of them.

Ed Nichols
Vice President
ISC Events
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2009-11-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

I appreciate all of the feedback - this blog has elicited more responses than the one about Brett Favre!

This event has transformed, and continues to transform, to both mirror the market dynamics, but also the event dynamics nationally. It’s not a surprise that one reader found the event to be very different than what he experienced 8 years ago - the event certainly has changed. Since that time ISC East has moved from THE international ISC - to the northeast regions ISC; the largest event serving this market. The international kick-off to the security calendar has now become ISC West, which has grown to 2+ times the size that we remember ISC East to be in the 1990's, and continues to grow annually.

What ISC East is about now is business; the people responsible for security in the northeast and those people looking to do business with them. It is the highest concentration of security professionals in the northeast, with the interest and buying power for the latest in products and technologies to meet their needs. The majority of the security professionals at ISC East do not attend ISC West, and still see ISC East as vitally important to them - as evident by some of the postings above.

But we continue to work to ensure the value of ISC East and some of the changes you will see around ISC East will in fact reflect certifications and training, as we partner with more of the industry's leading educators. We were very excited to have the PSA Network providing systems integrator training at this year's event, as well as Government Security News providing targeted content for government security professionals. In 2010 you will see greater use of video, twitter (and the continuation of this blog) in discussing and eliciting feedback around the events.

But increasing the value can’t happen unless we continue to hear from you. Keep telling us what you think.

Ed

ISC East Opens

2009-10-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

...The 2009 ISC East opened this morning on an overcast day......OK, if you were here today you know it was a downpour! Despite the weather, and the diapers collecting water making its way through the roof, attendees came and by exhibitor accounts - not mine - the aisles were packed and the quality of attendance was up.

Through the draw of Public Security & Safety at ISC we realized a tripling of the government attendee registrations and these attendees were certainly noticed. Both of the education theaters were packed, as was the IP Technology Advancement Center.

JVC sponsored the VIP Lounge again this year and is ecstatic with the turnout.

We won't have preliminary numbers until the end of the show, and audited numbers for 6 weeks, but the buzz is good here and people are feeling optimistis about 2010.

Stayed tune for more news tomorrow.

Ed Nichols
Vice President
ISC Events
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Next stop......ISC East

2009-10-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

As I sit (calmly) to write this week’s blog we are all eagerly preparing for next week’s ISC East. It’s been a long year for all of us, that’s for sure, and we’ve traditionally looked at ISC East being held in the late fall of the calendar year as the ‘end of the security year,’ but for 6,700 eager attendees – this is one of the most important week’s of the year. Here’s why:

New Products! 60%+ of the ISC East attendees do not attend any other major security event…and 96% of all ISC East attendees are attending to see new products. This year we’ve launched a physical new product showcase, right in the middle of the show floor, with the Security Industry Association (SIA). Over half of all participating manufacturers have taken advantage of this complimentary opportunity to showcase their new products. They have been launched at ISC West, but over 6,000 people are waiting to see them at ISC East!

Education! We are very proud to have partnered with the Security Industry Association in our development of education at the ISC events; and reaching out to the thought leaders in each of the disciplines to provide the highest level in product and systems training. This year’s ISC East sees the launch of PSA @ ISC; systems integration training developed by the PSA Network; the same education you’ve known and trusted at PSA-Tec. With limited space, we are hosting certified manufacturer training for (3) companies this year – Axis, Dedicated Micros and Redline have all taken advantage of this opportunity and we’ve got more than 500 registrants for each of the training sessions; some reaching over 1,000! We are also working with Security Products magazine to host our IP Technology Advancement Center (IP TAC) theater on the show floor. This theater will showcase the latest in IP technology and applications – and is complimentary to all ISC East attendees

Public Security & Safety Expo! From it’s successful launch at ISC West this spring; we’ve brought the Public Security & Safety Expo (PSS) to ISC East, partnering with the Security Industry Association and Government Security News. With over 50 companies representing the latest in access control, video surveillance and perimeter protection specifically for government, healthcare and education solutions, PSS at ISC East is the first thing you’ll see. We have two complimentary education theaters available in PSS, with content developed by Government Security News, discussing the latest in threats and awareness and the solutions available – and in development – to thwart them.

Special Events! – ISC East kicks off this year on Tuesday night with Government Security News’ Award Dinner, highlighting the best in government security solutions. The evening will culminate with the awarding of the Fred G. Morrone Award to Frances Townsend, the national security leader who served as Chair of the Homeland Security Council in the Bush administration.. Wednesday night is the Tri- Association Dinner, honoring John Murphy with Vector Security and Alan Forman with Altronix. Tickets are still available for both events by following the links above.

As you can see, there is a lot to do at this year’s ISC East. If you haven’t already registered, or have any questions, contact me enichols@reedexpo.com. I hope to see you in New York City next week.

Ed Nichols
Vice President
ISC Events
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The latest on security Brett Favre

2009-10-07T06:31:00.000-07:00

...Like most of America, I tuned in to watch Monday Night Football last night, to see Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers at the Metrodome 30-23. As most of you know, this game was much hyped as this was the first game for Favre playing against his former team, from which he was unceremoniously released last year after retiring and unretiring that off-season. Truth be told I am a Green Bay Packers fan – I married into it. My wife is born and raised in Green Bay, actually the suburb of Allouez, and we were married out there 7 years to the day of this game. As part of the ‘wedding dowry’ I was given access to Packers tickets, as elusive to some Wisconsin residents as the tooth fairy, and have faithfully gone ‘home’ for a sub-zero game in the frozen tundra for the last six years. Over the years, I’ve watched Brett Favre play, rooting for him against Oakland after his father passed away, seeing him pass Dan Marino for the passing record against Minnesota the day after my brother-in-law’s wedding, and painfully watching the ill-fated pass that was intercepted by the Super Bowl winning New York Giants to end the 2007 season. I’ve also joined Packers fans at Favre’s ‘last game’ as he nearly retired, first against the Seahawks in the Packers final home game of 2005, then in the season finale against the Bears at Soldier Field, and finally on that frozen day in overtime in Green Bay in 2007.

After his retirement – and unretirement – the Packer fan base was divided into two camps: Brett Favre fans and Green Bay Packers fans. As the saga played out, there were those, die-hard Favre fans (and most retired football players) who felt that Favre had accomplished so much in his career, and had done so much for the city/town of Green Bay (just over 100,000 people), that he should have the choice to return, not return, unreturn, etc, whenever he liked. On the other hand, the Packers realized that they had one of the youngest teams in the NFL and had nearly made the Super Bowl in 2007…with the oldest quarterback in the league. The business side of the NFL forces you to look honestly at the situation; you have 2-3 years to keep this young team together, with a strong armed young quarterback that you’ve designated the future of your franchise on the bench, and a sure Hall of Famer in his last season (perpetually) as your starter. I supported Packers management in their decision - as unpopular as it was, I still think it was the right one for the franchise.

That said, while I wanted to see the Packers win last night, I did enjoy seeing Favre play again. He played with an energy and motivation that I hadn’t seen late in the 2007, or with the Jets last year, or frankly in the early part of this season. I had always felt that his motivation for getting to the Vikings was selfish, that he would tarnish his reputation with those fans that would matter most – Green Bay Packers fans – by playing out this chess game that was necessary to get him to the Vikings to ‘stick it to’ his old team. But what I saw last night was someone who could still do it, could still perform at a high level, who just wanted to show everyone – including himself – that he still had it. And while the prognosticators will all argue about whether or not he will have it for the remainder of the season; I think he’s most concerned about having it just one more time – against Green Bay on November 1. If it is anything like the game last night, it will be fun to watch.

Ed Nichols
Vice President
ISC Events
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Off to Anaheim......

2009-09-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

...This week, along with a large segment of the security industry, we'll be in Anaheim for ASIS International. This will be the first time that ISC has taken a booth at ASIS - I'd like to give you a look into what we'll be doing out there:

Promoting ISC! - as an event organizer we promote - and believe - that face to face is the best way to promote your product or to share improvements. ISC has grown from it's inception to what has now become the home for the entire security channel. As we continue our work in ensuring that ISC remains the most valuable security event to the broadest range of security professionals you will continue to see us at events, in the press and messaging directly about these improvements - and asking for your input

Public Security & Safety - our launch of this show within a show serving the government, healthcare and education security space has been very well received. Offering educational content provided by Government Security News; we are very excited by the response and participation in this event for ISC East and are already well into the planning for ISC West in March.
We'll be available to answer questions and discuss why this is where manufacturers trying to understand how to do business with the government need to be
Education - we are very happy to have Mike Johnson on board as our new Director of Industry Development. Working closely with Arminda Valles-Hall with SIA, Mike and their newly formed industry advisory board are working diligently to overhaul ISC Education, moving it from product based to a more vertical, job function related curriculum. I'm very excited about the progress he's made - he'll be available to answer questions.

Meetings with industry stakeholders - in addition to being an opportunity to check in with our customer base and meet new people; this is a great opportunity to check in with our security publication partners, associations and networks - SIA, PSA, CAA, NYBFAA - and NBFAA (yes, we are civil and actually like one another!)

It's going to be a busy 3 days; if you'll be out there please stop by our booth (# 687) to meet the people that put the ISC events together. We'd really like to meet you.

Ed
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Taking back the blog…..for now!

2009-09-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

...It’s good to be back. Hopefully all of you read Amie’s blog last week while I was away. It has spurred a little competition here – whose blog gets read more……and Amie did well last week. I’m back for now – but you will have an opportunity to hear more from Amie and the rest of the ISC staff throughout the rest of the year.

When we talked last, I mentioned that we were entering into our 2010 budgeting process. Like most of you, this is when we project what revenues and profit will look like in the coming year; then we examine investment and are asked to defend each expenditure as how vital it is to the success of our property. Key to note here, is that the process is about scrutinizing, not simply cutting. The ISC events, and this site, have realized the growth that they have based on targeted investment where necessary – while continuing to evaluate where spending is not as efficient – and making the hard decisions to reallocate existing resources. Again, I’m sure this is not unlike the process that most of you are going through.

What has been more difficult is gauging what the investment of individual companies will be in the ISC events in 2010. We learned during the dot.com boom – when trade shows were going away – that there will always be a need and a place for face-to-face – and that certainly hasn’t changed. Despite the rough economy we’ve been able to do well maintaining the amount of participation in the events, despite seeing the investment in the event by some companies decrease. It appeared that the smaller investment was fueled primarily by those companies who do not view security as their primary sector. But I read on Saturday that while we continue to see an increase in positive indicators around a recovery for the economy, many companies have learned to do more with the same – or less – through this experience. They’ve been asked to make hard decisions and reallocate existing resources – and that some of the spending that was seen before 2008 may not return as quickly as we think – or would like.

I would be interested to hear how your company is planning for 2010 and how it plans to spend; or not spend.

Ed Nichols
Industry Vice President
Reed Exhibitions
203 840-5968

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Behind the scenes at ISC...

2009-08-25T12:38:00.001-07:00

...After a long week of budgets, Ed's off on a well-deserved vacation for a few days. So, as the ISC Marketing Director, I've hijacked his blog to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what we're working on here at ISC headquarters!

First, a shameless plug for the launch this week of our Twitter page. Probably like most of you, we're still trying to figure out the whole social media thing, but I've found some good resources out there. First, my favorite - What the F is social media? – an overview of what it is and why you should care. Also, Brian Offenberger offers some great tips in his webcast “The Right On-No Bull Guide to Generating Leads in a Tough Economy” available for free through the ISC Education Online Learning Series.

What else is going on here? We're hard at work recruiting products for the New Product Showcase at ISC East (exhibitors - if you're reading this, participation is free!); reviewing speaker proposals for the all-new ISC Education program we're developing for ISC West; and putting together some research to see how we can make our Security Insights by ISC365 newsletter more valuable for you. By the way, you can save us some time on that last one by emailing me directly with any ideas of what you'd like to see included in the newsletter!

Ed will be back next week, but feel free to email me at any time with questions on what we're doing here - or thoughts on what we should be doing to improve your experience with the ISC events and ISC365.com.

Amie Cangelosi
Marketing Director
ISC Events / ISC365.com
acangelosi@reedexpo.com

Golfing with the Connecticut Alarm and Systems Integrators Association……and setting budgets!

2009-08-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

...Last Thursday the ISC Team took to the links; participating again in the 19th annual Connecticut Alarm and Systems Integrators Association (CASIA) golf tournament. We had a beautiful day and what seemed to be a full slate of participants with two foursomes starting on every hole. ISC had two foursomes competing; our foursome – we’ll call it Team #1 - did well, however, missed too many birdie putts and finished +1 (the winning score was a -15 score of 57). Our second foursome – Team #2 - broke out the Bloody Mary’s on the first hole; the Guiness and Smithwicks on the second hole and had a great time from the minute the carts left the parking lot…..and had quite a sunburn when they were finished. I never actually saw their scorecard, however, they must have been on the course for nearly the longest time all day – with the possible exception of the foursome stuck behind them! It was a great day and a great event, supporting CASIA and their many initiatives. Best of all, it convinced me that I should get out and golf some more.....before next year’s tournament. Executive Director Pat Remes and CASIA President Bob McVeigh do a wonderful job and the golf tournament was no different. Great job to tournament chairman Andy Wilson for putting together a great event.

We’ve been very happy to enjoy the support of CASIA, as well as the New York Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NYBFAA) and the New Jersey Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NJBFAA) for our ISC East event. In addition to promoting participation and membership in their respective state associations at the show, this year the three groups will be working together to discuss the interstate cooperation of the associations. With NYBFAA’s Executive Director, Dale Eller, taking the lead with NYBFAA President Ron Petraca, the three groups will be front and center, a can’t miss at this year’s ISC East. The members of these associations are the backbone of our industry and we really can’t say enough about them. I was also encouraged to hear that, despite the economy, quite a number of the CASIA members are doing quite well despite the challenges of the economy. Yes, home sales are down and new construction had dried up, but it sounds like a number of companies are finding add-on and upgrade business with existing customers – particularly those in high-end markets. If you can’t sell the house now; might as well invest in it! I was surprised to hear that – and happy to hear there were people making lemonade out of lemons in our industry.

Well, back to work now as we begin to prepare for 2010 budgets. While I’m still hopeful that we’ll see the economy bottom out in the coming months; budget time is when the rubber meets the road – as you know. While I’m hopeful for the industry, hopes can get a man in trouble when establishing and defending budgets in the corporate world. As I work through this process I will be sharing what our thinking is with you in the blog. I’d like to hear from some of you – how are you budgeting for 2010? How will 2009 look?

Ed
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A nod to our friends in the security trade press.....

2009-07-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

...With the recent promotion of Amie Cangelosi to Marketing Director for the ISC events, she and I had the opportunity to get better acquainted with our friends in the security industry trade press. I was very encouraged by what we found; not a legacy media form that is on its last legs, rather a variety of very different products all serving the security industry very well, and in very unique ways.

Our oldest relationship no doubt is with Mark McCourt and BNP Media. Mark publishes Security Magazine and SDM, serving both the security integrator and end-user markets. Mark is a wealth of knowledge and certainly has been very helpful to me. SDM's editor, Laura Stepanek and I go back many years when Reed still owned security titles and she was a Reed Business employee. BNP Media has also been responsible for the Show Daily at ISC West for a number of years and we really value our relationship with them.

We've recently developed a closer relationship with Tim Purpura, publisher of Security Systems News and Security Director News. Tim is with United Publications and I've been very impressed with the work Tim, his associate publisher Gregg Shapiro, and Security Systems News editor Sam Pfeifle are doing. Claiming a unique space in the industry of predominantly news and transactions, they have two '20 Under 40' programs, one for each of the publications, that recognizes tomorrow's leaders today. We are excited to be working with Tim and his group to bring these programs to the ISC events.

Russell Lindsay, publisher of Security Products, and his editor Ralph Jensen have the unique position of focusing specifically on the products and technologies shaping the market. They also produce Network-Centric Security, a bimonthly resource for physical security and IT professionals to navigate the shift to IP technology. We’re very excited to be working with them on the all-new IP Technology Advancement Center (IP-TAC) at ISC East, an interactive area on the show floor where attendees can see and touch the products that are advancing IP technology.

Cygnus' Paul Caplan is doing some very good stuff with his Security Dealer & Integrator and Security Technology Executive titles, as well as his online platform – Securityinfowatch.com. Paul has recently brought Carol Enman back onto the publication side as his editor for Security Dealer & Integrator. I recall Carol from her days as a publisher for another security title and have always admired her work. In the coming months, we will also be working with Paul to understand how to work more closely across our online platforms – Securityinfowatch.com and ISC365.com.

Peggy Onstad is the new publisher at Security Sales and Integration and Campus Safety, taking over for John Lacasale. We welcome Peggy to the industry and hope she fully understands the depth of talent she has to work with. Upon my return to the industry, I was very happy to find many familiar faces like SSI editor Scott Goldfine and Campus Safety editor Robin Gray. I've always enjoyed both Scott and Robin’s work and I'm glad to see they’re both still at it. National Sales Manager Steve Peterson is another good guy and I'm sure Peggy will find the transition into security easier with her ability to rely on these folks. SSI has traditionally held their SAMMY Awards at ISC West, recognizing the best of the best in the security dealer and integration community. If you haven't had the opportunity to join us for the SAMMY's at ISC West, I would encourage you to join us in March.

Ed Tyler is now publisher of GSN: Government Security News, he was previously with Cygnus. I greatly admire Ed for the work that he's done - and the risk that he's taken - in seeing an opportunity and taking the risk to start up a publication. GSN is a niche publication; really owning the government security space. With his editor Jacob Goodwin, and partner Adrian Courtenay, Ed is doing some really great stuff and we are proud to be partnering with his group on the development of our Public Security and Safety Expo (PSS) at the ISC events. GSN will also be hosting the First Annual Homeland Security Awards as a kickoff to PSS at ISC East this year.

Each one of these publications is doing so much more than traditional print; each with their own niche and with a wealth of products and information that still serves the security industry well. We are very excited to be working with each, and I would encourage you to take a look to see what these folks are doing -putting out very innovative products - and continuing to serve our security industry.

Below are links to the publications mentioned above:

Security Magazine - www.securitymagazine.com
SDM - www.sdmmag.com
Security Systems News - www.securitysystemsnews.com
Security Director News - www.securitydirectornews.com
Security Products - www.secprodonline.com
Cygnus - www.securityinfowatch.com
Security Sales & Integration - www.securitysales.com
Campus Safety - www.campussafetymagazine.com
GSN: Government Security News - www.gsnmagazine.com

Ed
www.isceast.com
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Where the spending is...

2009-07-15T12:16:00.001-07:00

...This week we're going to talk about where the spending seems to be in
security currently - healthcare, education and government. In November of
last year, those in attendance at Sandra Jones & Co's 'Securing New Ground'
in NYC, all of the manufacturers and integrators that spoke talked about
their market diversity and the fact that healthcare, education and
government spending would allow them to weather the 'downturn' in 2009. (By
the way, if you have not attended Sandy's event, jointly owned by SJC with
the Security Industry Association, Jeffrey T. Kessler and BNP Media, you
need to be there. There is no better event in the fall addressing the
financial results and trends of the prior year and providing an overview of
the year to come.)

We had already announced the rebranding of the Urban Security area of our
ISC West and East events as Public Security & Safety Expo; designed to
provide products, content and technology for government, education and
healthcare attendance professionals - so it certainly was reassuring to hear
that this focus was such a common theme. Understand that it is the
responsibility of an event management company to mirror an industry; to
provide relevant opportunities to both it's exhibiting and attending
constituents, and via Public Security & Safety (PSS) we were able to do that
at this year's ISC West. Post show we measured a 40% increase in these
attendees, and learned that while the PSS area was of interest - they
attended to see the entire show. For those manufacturers reading this; they
attended ISC to see you!

At ISC East this year we will again feature Public Security & Safety,
partnering with the Security Industry Association and Government Security
News to provide evening greater product, technology and content for the
government integrators and end-users.

But the question remains for those manufacturers who are not currently doing
business in these verticals - where do I start? SIA's Don Ericson did a
wonderful job with their Government Summit this past June, with a record
number of manufacturer attendees trying to 'find the money.' For those
asking the same question, I suggest you come to PSS at ISC East this year,
where we will be providing unique content from Government Security News'
Editor Jacob Goodwin, that will include sessions on How to Find the Money
and Navigating the Challenges of Government procurement.

To receive more information on PSS at ISC East send me an e-mail.

For more information on the organizations I mentioned above; please go to:

www.isceast.com - PSS at ISC East
www.securingnew ground.com - Securing New Ground
www.siaonline.org - Security Industry Association
www.gsnmagazine.com - Government Security News

I am heading to the center of Wisconsin next week, where I hope to take some

time off with my family and relax. I will be taking next week off from the
blog, but will be back the week of July 27 with more news and notes from
ISC!

Ed
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...Is Security Recession Proof?

2009-06-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

...Last week we talked about the economy and what the experts expect - and what that means for you. Today we are going to talk about security; is it recession proof, and what it means when security does poorly versus other industries.

The answer to the first question is a resounding no - we are not recession proof. Despite years of prosperity during economic slowdowns, and even the growth in the post 9/11 world, this recession hit everyone - us included. Some felt the sting right away; manufacturers first as they saw business slow down and were left overstocked and under forecast as early as Q4 '08 and Q1 '09. Many of the projects for installers and integrators were already under way, and that group wondered if they would feel the effects of the downturn as far back as Q4 '08. But that wonder was simply a pronounced lag into the recession, and they 'jumped in the pool' with the rest of us early this year. The residential installation and monitoring business has reflected the housing market - and more importantly the unemployment statistics - of the nation. Despite the importance of home security, the fact remains that without a job, and without money - you do without a home system.

We mentioned earlier our strategy session with Frost & Sullivan last week. Their forecasts actually showed growth for the security industry in 2009, albeit much lower than the double digit growth we've realized as an industry over the past decade. This growth was anticipated to be driven by spending in the education, healthcare and government security areas, and to be realized primarily by the small-to-midsized manufacturers of video and access products, as well as data storage and PSIM providers. The belief being that money is being spent, and the smaller companies with less overhead will be able to weather the slowdown better than the industry bellwethers.

As a company that produces over 470 events globally, we serve many different markets. Looking at our business in 2009, and 2010, we look at security as one of the most resilient, if not THE most resilient, of the markets served with anticipated growth slowing down to 3-5%. In markets like home building, recreation markets like golf, and luxury markets like jewelry we are seeing steep declines from 20-40%.

So we are doing OK. While it may not seem like it right now; we are. And we'll get through this.

But as the nature of our business is one-to-one conversations, tell me - what do you think?

Ed Nichols
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...and Now For Something Completely Different

2009-06-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

...Having launched this blog twice; now I'd like to talk about security. Specifically (3) things; the recession, how we have held up in the face of the recession and finally how people are finding the money currently being spent in the Big Three verticals: Education; Healthcare and Government. Today we'll talk about the recession.

Last week our senior team met with Frost & Sullivan in order to get greater industry insight into our strategic planning for the ISC brand in the coming year - in the hopes that our forecasts would be more accurate for 2010 than they were for 2009. The Frost & Sullivan team shared that they are seeing indicators that reflect a strengthening of GDP in the fall of 2009, and assuming a slight lag, we would begin realizing 'recovery' in the security industry as early as Q4 of this year. While this was good news; I'm paid to be pessimistic (as my team would attest) and questioned recovery so soon.

That same day I read separate articles quoting chief economists with both IHS Global Insight and Standard and Poor's; with IHS predicting that we are 'two to three months away from an upturn' and S&P predicting that we see 'a bottom in the fall.....there's a lot of risk to that.' USA Today's John Waggoner reported that seven of the eleven economic outlook index indicators are positive, further supporting the feeling that we will see recovery in 2009.

With that said, in the events business we have the opportunity to not only look at indicators, but to speak to companies. We have a team of people speaking to manufacturers daily, discussing not only their participation in our ISC events, but the state of their business. What we are hearing - still, is from a lot of hard working people who, like the rest of us, were caught by surprise by the economic collapse last fall and are not comfortable making any long term investment until they see the signs of a bottoming out or recovery. The feeling being that while the analysts' news is optimistic, unfortunately, it is hard to run your business from that perspective in June 2009.

We do know that RFQs and RFPs seem to be increasing in the installer and integrator segments; telling us that customers are anticipating the funding for upgrades to existing systems or complete enterprise solutions. And the indicators are there that we may see this funding before the end of the year.

But as the nature of our business is one-to-one conversations, tell me - what do you think?

Ed Nichols
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Starting new....again

2009-06-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

There is a lot going on here with ISC and ISC365. For one; I'm starting a blog.....again! I wrote my first entry the week before ISC West - and I know that at least one of you read it. I'm not going to ask the brave soul to come forward - I'll just say 'thank you.'

Today we have officially relaunched ISC365; focusing on our product catalogue and ISC Education. With that, our goal is to provide you with the industry's most comprehensive product catalogue - allowing you to learn about and source the widest range of security products anywhere.

We are also embarking on an aggressive plan to bring ISC Education to you monthly; via podcasts, webinars and white papers. We are excited to be taking the ISC Education that is available to you at our events and providing it to you year-round.

But this only works if it works for you. I will be here - letting you know what we are doing and why - and I hope that you respond, both when we hit the mark and when we don't.

Check out the site - let me know what you think.

Ed Nichols
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