SecurityInfoWatch.com is across the pond in Birmingham, England, at the NEC convention center for the massive IFSEC security tradeshow. The attitude is a nice mix of new product technologies, establishing partnership and a lot of networking and social outlets for the European security industry. Besides our reports on the main SecurityInfoWatch.com IFSEC 2008 news page, we're collecting our photos for this blog.
Entering the halls of the NEC, site for the IFSEC 2008 tradeshow in Birmingham, England.
The halls of the NEC are set up in such a way that there is a focus to different areas of the tradeshow floor. And the exhibits are where the focus is for this show. There are some good content sessions, but not nearly as many as you would expect from attending a comparable show like ISC West or ASIS International's Seminars and Exhibits.
One of the startling things about the IFSEC show is the quality of booth presentations. Two-story booths with extensive meeting rooms and lounges aren't uncommon here, as evidenced in Panasonic's showcase booth for the surveillance solutions.
Visit IFSEC and you're sure to come across huge UK security products distributor Norbain. They're holding a promotion to let some lucky attendee win this Brig Eagle powerboat.
The SecurityInfoWatch.com team was able to catch up with Baruch Peled, CEO of Mango DSP (left) and Erez Meir, sales manager (right), to take a look at the companies unique approach to embedded technologies. Mango DSP has been strong in the U.S., but is ready to make a big push into the European security technologies space.
IP video company IndigoVision was showing their end-to-end IP solution. Ray Ede, in their technical sales group, was able to show some of the new features of the ControlCenter system, including analytics, a handy video incident bookmarking tool and other features that are boosting usability. IndigoVision CMO Joanna Brace reiterated a feeling a lot more about networked video: "IP is no longer an early adoption technology," she said, though she admitted the market has been a bit confused about discussion of open standards and open architecture. Open architecture, she said, is not about connecting different hardware systems. Rather, she said, it's about the ability to integrate entirely different platforms.
I was quite impressed by Risco Group's new SynopSYS system, which integrates building management and security/access/surveillance into one easily managed solution.
UK-based access control firm Paxton Access was on my list. Trish Bambury, the marketing manager, had a lot to show off, including a really unique system for using license plate recognition for access control (and it doesn't need a DVR or NVR -- instead, the camera works like the access reader, and the system verifies whether a plate number is listed in the system to determine whether to grant access).
The real product showcase at Paxton, however, was a number of door hardware pieces. On site were the Marine reader which is built for harsh and maritime environments, and still quite stunning in its design, and the Architectural reader, which fits in with architects needs and can be customized to match building designs.
Sometimes you just have to deal with vandals. Paxton's vandal resistant keypad deals with them and even manages to retain a nice sense of style.
Of course, if you're looking for Paxton's most haute designed reader, it's this one. The LCD screen allows the user to upload four unique images, so that the customer could put their logo on the screen. Images could be anything from just welcome messages to an event image like "Access Denied, please visit Security Office in building 2" or anything the integrator or client could come up with. Slick, indeed.
Okay, this wasn't on the exhibit floor, but here's a name you don't see much of in our industry anymore: Philips.
And finally, as tradition at IFSEC seems to dictate, one of the smiling faces on the IFSEC tradeshow floor.
More coverage tomorrow, stay tuned.
-Geoff
