EDIT leader jun22_000_PSI_apr15 25/05/2022 15:46 Page 2
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EDITORIAL
Bouncebackability Should we ever have doubted that the security industry would return to form with a buoyant IFSEC after a couple of years of cancellations? In May we all boarded the DLR and hit Excel in London for a pleasingly busy three days
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ack in 2019 none of us knew that we wouldn’t be going to another IFSEC for three years, but this year we went back and all was well. Since the previous event we’ve gone through a pandemic, some losing loved ones to a virus nobody had ever heard of before, learnt the meaning of words such as furlough, developed proficiencies in video conferencing technology and accepted sticking large swabs down our throats before going anywhere. The testing years of 2020-21 were a time when being positive was very much a negative. The security industry remained busy throughout the pandemic as the country stayed at home leaving office buildings and normally bustling retail premises empty. The criminal threats changed and our sector stepped up to deal with those using the pandemic as an opportunity to switch their criminal targets to new areas. Business carried on for installers, but for event organisers there wasn’t a whole lot going on. PSI magazine gave manufacturers a platform to launch new technology in the total absence of shows and there were plenty who thought “we’ve coped this far without shows, so do we need them?” but as organisers will tell you, the security sector is built on relationships; nothing works better for business than a face-toface meeting with your peers. So yes, we do need events and well attended exhibitions do wonders for the sector in terms of how the industry feels about itself. The IFSEC of 2022 did have a different vibe about it than the shows of old where there would be a whole hall full of CCTV cameras so you felt like you were walking around a Hall of Mirrors as you saw yourself from all angles as you walked around. Nowadays the electronic security sector is more software based with firmware upgrades replacing some hardware changes and the widespread use of smartphone apps for remote management and monitoring has become the norm. Today the event is more about delivering more focused content in smaller settings around the hall rather than a massive seminar theatre. There were also lots of companies that were new to many of us having come up in the years since the previous event. It was good to see so many people supporting the event and showing that the sector is as strong as ever. The dates for next year have been released and rumours about the previously mooted IFSEC Europe show were doing the rounds for 2023. Whatever happens, security is a secure business to be in. Andy Clutton EDITOR
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