The big show is back

INTERVIEW

The big show returns!

This month we talk to Gerry Dunphy, Event Director Fire & Security at Informa, about what will be in store at IFSEC this year when the industry can finally get together again at Excel in London for the first time since 2019

How does it feel to finally get a date in the diary for the next IFSEC? Mightily relieved and excited! If you think about it, the last time we hosted IFSEC was June 2019 which now seems to be from another era, given all that has happened in the intervening years. 2021 was particularly frustrating as we were in a constant stop/ start position trying to find a viable gap in the permissible periods to host the show but in the end, the restrictions made the decision for us. The one benefit of that situation was it allowed us to focus on 2022 with total clarity as well as testing loads of ideas and themes.

You’ve had a while without an IFSEC to plan for – has this given you time to reassess anything in regard to the direction, aims or make up of the show? The entire period was an opportunity to take a higher level view of the fundamentals of what our shows are all about and what they represent to the participating markets and industries. We took the opportunity to conduct research with the key installer audience and the major outcomes were around skills and training. There seems to be a genuine appetite for improving skills and learning particularly around new technology as very often anxieties challenges seem to arise when innovations appear. We hosted targeted training sessions online around areas such as fire alarm installation and video analytics with our partners at Skills For Security and it proved to us that bridging the knowledge gap is vital.

This has subsequently led us to formulate a plan around IFSEC & FIREX Training at the shows this which will form a major part of our proposition this year for installers in particular. I won’t say anymore as there is a launch schedule in place.

On a lighter note we’re very aware that everyone has been apart for so long that the need to engage with friends and colleagues has never been greater, so there will be a much greater emphasis on the social aspects of the show such as networking and the after hours aspects. We’ve already witnessed with the return of the Security & Fire Excellence Awards last November that there is a huge appetite for the security and fire markets to reunite in a social setting. “There seems to be a genuine appetite for improving skills and learning particularly around new technology as very often anxieties challenges seem to arise when innovations appear”

INTERVIEW

“From our conversations with the exhibitors, there is certainly a whole new set of product applications which have arrived since the Covid pandemic”

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What was the reaction to the online events/initiatives you started during the pandemic? The stand out success has been the introduction of Tech Talks which provided manufacturers with opportunities to supply product specific videos hosted by a professional presenter. The video was followed by Q&A sessions whereby the manufacturer could answer questions in real time from the viewing audience which provided the opportunity to discuss the products and innovations in greater depth. We’ve now hosted over fifty Tech Talk sessions across the fire and security sectors and these are all available to view via the IFSEC Global website.

The added bonus is that the sessions are all available on demand which means the participating companies have ready made product demos introduced by a professional presenter- they have an extended shelf life on YouTube. We also introduced an online meetings platform in July 2021 called IFSEC Connect which provided manufacturers and service providers with a chance to meet with their customers online via a virtual booth. It was similar to a social media connections platform whereby visitors could request meetings from the manufacturers and vice versa- the whole operation was transparent and searchable. Connect was a good stand in for the live event and we’ve heard some great accounts of new business coming from some unlikely sources!

How will the IFSEC of 2022 be different from what we’ve seen before? Less hardware, more software do you think? From our conversations with the exhibitors, there is certainly a whole new set of product applications which have arrived since the Covid pandemic. Much greater emphasis on touchless technologies and thermal imaging as the products have adapted to the new normal. There is an interesting dynamic at work here as the manufacturers seem to have thought about the challenges in quite remarkable ways and many of these products haven’t really been seen on a mass scale which makes coming to IFSEC even more compelling. We’re having a particular focus on the products released during Covid as the audience won’t have seen or held many of the new technologies and they definitely won’t have spoken to their vendor partners face to face.

INTERVIEW

“If we can see lots of happy customers in the halls, the bars are all full of noise and the after hours events are rocking then we’ll say welcome back IFSEC!”

Software is becoming ever- present which is an area we’re looking at once again with our Converged Security Centre feature which will provide scheduled demonstrations around how hardware and software, when used in tandem, can provide a full overview of a security situation with deliverable intel and business critical data.

Is there anything extra planned at the event specifically of interest to installers? The new Training initiative has been planned with installers specifically in mind. Without giving the game away before we officially launch, we’ll have an exciting range of major training providers, associations and vendors involved to deliver high quality, focused and accredited training sessions. This will make visiting IFSEC and FIREX even more valuable than before as they can mix learning with product sourcing via the exhibition.

In addition the exhibitors themselves are of direct interest to the installer audience. Where else will they see headliners such as Texecom, Hikvision, Dahua, Paxton, CSL, BT Redcare, Commend, CAME, C-Tec, Kentec, Salto, SSAIB, NSI and the BSIA all in one place? We’re also delighted to be welcoming Elmdene back to IFSEC after a number of years which to me is symbolic of the resurgence of our shows after such a long break.

Would you say that even though we have become used to video conferencing there’s no replacing face-to-face meetings? The emergence of video conferencing as a norm has helped us stay in touch with all our customers and stakeholders over a challenging period. It also means calls and meetings around the world have become more visual and information led as you can share information on screens which you can’t do on a phone.

But nothing in the world will replace meeting people face to face. We’ve already seen it with the few Informa shows that managed to come back last year, there was a tangible appetite and anticipation for professionals to come together to meet again and discuss the issues driving their sectors.

IFSEC will be 50 years old in 2023 and since its inception at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in 1973, it has been a key date in the diary for security professionals around the world. It’s a major meeting place for everyone in the sector and coming back after an enforced hibernation makes it even more tantalising, especially when there will be so many new products on display and a major new threat in the form of Covid to deal with. The IFSEC audience will have a range of new challenges to deal with courtesy of the pandemic and IFSEC will be one of the earliest opportunities for them to meet with their key suppliers and understand how the technology can combat this new world.

It’s been a tricky time for everyone since the previous IFSEC in 2019, how will you judge the success of the 2022 event? Ordinarily we’d have a very straight bat response which would be vendors rebooking for 2023 and audience levels increasing on previous years. But this year will have added factors such as people thoroughly enjoying the reunions and reconnections with their friends and colleagues. We want to provide a tangible sense of joy and delight at being back with your tribe in a vibrant and energetic setting where you can see things you’ve never seen before. If we can see lots of happy customers in the halls, the bars are all full of noise and the after hours events are rocking then we’ll say welcome back IFSEC! www.psimagazine.co.uk