Our team is back from ISC West, one of the largest security trade events in the US. We spoke to team members, Mark Cornett, Senior Sales Director, Sarandis Kalogeropoulos, Director Customer Success Manager and Hedvig Spenner Crona, Jr Marketing Manager to find out more about the event and the key trends emerging this year.
How would you sum up this year’s ISC West show?
Mark: “As the first major security event of the year, it was really encouraging to see that the show attendance – both exhibitors and attendees – seemed to approach pre-COVID levels, especially on the first and second days. Having a good mix of end users and installers along with amount of activity each day made it a successful show and certainly the best since COVID.”
Sarandis: “It was very positive. This is our second round of ISC – we participated at ISC East last November – and there was a high amount of traffic with great engagement from visitors. As a result, we were able to demonstrate Precise YOUNiQ and educate widely about our business and solutions. It was exciting to see the number of biometric solutions represented at the show which we don’t see so much at Nordic fairs, and to be part of the conversations that are shaping the industry.”
Hedvig: “From my perspective, it was important to see the US trends and industry direction. Walking around the floor it was really insightful talking to others in the industry and understanding how the security market is developing. No other form of marketing offers quite the same experience as an exhibition so this was a key opportunity for us to raise awareness about Precise.”
Why was this show important for Precise and why did you decide to get involved?
Mark: “As the largest security/access control show in North America, this is an important opportunity for us to participate and build brand recognition with attendees and prospective partners who also exhibit there.”
Sarandis: “It was a good environment to introduce our company to those who hadn’t met us before and talk with other organisations and competitors working in the industry. Plus of course, we were able to reconnect with existing clients and partners.”
Hedvig: “Events like these are great for brand building and increasing awareness. Being at ISC West gave us valuable networking opportunities so we could connect with our partners and customers face-to-face, identify new business partners, generate leads and close sales. We met people that previously we wouldn’t have thought of reaching out to before, who were really interested in our company and business ideas. This really helps to inform our business strategies for the future.”
What were some of the key trends at the event? How does this compare to the technology and industry trends that Precise is seeing?
Sarandis: “We all noticed more representation of biometrics among the solutions being exhibited at the show. This chimes with what we’re seeing globally and here in the US as the adoption of biometrics-based solutions continues to grow.”
Mark: “There are some very exciting innovations in biometrics right now. Our own digital identity solution for access control (YOUNiQ), very much represents an exciting innovation in the use of biometrics. Its ability to increase security, enhance user convenience, and lower operating costs, is truly innovative.
“Another exciting element within biometrics is the growing pervasiveness of these technologies in our daily lives. Far from just unlocking your mobile phone, the use of biometric authentication in applications like enterprise access control, automotive, payment processing and many others is really impressive.”
What sorts of challenges are organizations facing today that makes them interested in Precise’s solutions?
Mark: “Greater security is certainly a common challenge for the organizations we spoke with. In Digital Identity, there are opportunities as companies navigate the transition of Covid from a pandemic to being more endemic. For example, at Precise, we’re focused in helping our partners balance challenges such as meeting pent-up demand for general maintenance of security systems for their customers alongside investing in new technology solutions such as face recognition access control.”
Sarandis: “We had lots of interest from attendees, and they all had great questions for us. Multifactor authentication was a common theme as well as understanding more about how our solution integrates easily with existing access management systems.”
How can biometrics and Precise’s solutions help to solve these challenges?
Mark: “Biometric authentication is inherently more secure than pin codes, cards, and other common access credentials. Moreover, YOUNiQ adds greater convenience for users, and if desired it can enable multifactor authentication by adding face recognition as an additional access credential.”
What were your key take-aways from the event?
Mark: “We had some very good conversations with attendees and identified several interesting applications that appear well-suited for YOUNiQ. And we saw some good opportunities to partner.”
Hedvig: “There are strong opportunities for biometrics as they are included in more and more products, portfolios and marketing materials.”
Future – are you planning to be at more shows, where can people come and meet you?
Hedvig: “We love to meet with new and existing partners and customers face-to-face so we can showcase our products and tell the market about our products. It’s important to do this physically as we know it’s not enough to just be present in the virtual world.
“We have a number of joint activities coming up with partners here in the Nordics this spring including a roadshow with Elajo and an event with Assa in Norway. And, we’re also planning to be at two fairs during the fall: Fastighetsmässan Syd (a real estate fair) in Malmö, Sweden in September, and SKYDD, the biggest security fair in the Nordics, taking place in Stockholm, Sweden in October.
“For the US, we’re planning new events going forward so we can continue building awareness and our next steps in working with potential partners.”