IFSEC 2011 – an alternative view

IFSEC 2011

So, all the hype and advertising is now over….for another year

Was it worth the visit?

Well, this is just my take on it, but here goes….

Spread over 2 halls, Hall 4 and 5, IFSEC was probably no bigger than last year….something of a surprise in that much had been made of exhibitors returning after a year or two absence…..but we couldn’t really find much evidence of that – sure, Norbain were there in all of their fantastic glory (not to mention a dedicated stand purely for their new ‘entry level’ range of kit, SupaVu, yet another Vista or is that Xeno??? Confusion reigns!)

Stand of the show had to be Samsung…..word has it that it cost £750,000 !!!! it was stunning, but for £750k we imagine they could invest that more wisely in e-commerce/advertising etc and gain perhaps a comparable return to IFSEC?? Each to their own !! (Samsung – take note, we do a good deal on advertising!!!)

The Far Eastern section has now been split into Far Eastern country sections, something we feared would happen – China Village, Korea Village and also Taiwan Village….. We’re sure we spotted a few credit card machines and that doesn’t bode well – IFSEC is a trade show to view new technology and make decisions on new product lines – if stands (or booths as our Far Eastern friends like to call them) are taking orders from ANYONE what confidence do you have that they won’t be selling directly to YOUR end user customers……..not good for a fragile enough UK security industry….

What stood out? Well, a couple of things….. HD-CCTV seemed to be gaining traction (something we will post in another section) – There were a few stands offering HD-CCTV cameras and recorders as an alternative to the IP and HD standard offerings via Ethernet…

Rapid Deployment was prominent – CCTV, both static and PTZ – situated on poles, columns, vehicle trailers – all with the common theme, battery backed up, wireless transmission and on board recording to HDDs…. WCCTV, MEL Secure, DM/TransVu to name but a few.

It slowly dawned on us that the main cluster of the ‘big’ names were literally centred in the middle of both halls……as you moved slowly to the edge of each hall then the names were less known….but, not without interesting technology to view – Loc8tor to name one very interesting product offering….

But, with previous shows, you could easily spend a full day, perhaps even two, walking the aisles…….somehow, this years IFSEC was pretty much a couple of hours worth of viewing….unless you stopped for long periods at any of the stands, realistically it was possible to completely view the two halls by early afternoon…..

And, with more and more Far Eastern companies taking up more and more real estate, it does make us wonder if IFSEC has perhaps had it’s day? Contentious we know, but, it is a point to debate!!!

2 thoughts on “IFSEC 2011 – an alternative view”

  1. More interested in what you thought of the products on show…but one thing you need to consider is the manufacturing strength of Far Eastern countries in those “villages” (we called it China Town) or the likes of Samsung, Panasonic, Sanyo, Sony, HIK etc etc…and how anything can have its day if it merely represents where the manufacturing power base resides.

  2. Hi Tom,

    Fair points made but it’s up to the buyer to evalulate value for money and if they get bitten on the arse by going cheap i have little sympathy.

    Perhaps this is a theme for a future blog 🙂

    Mike

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