The 2007 PSA-TEC is off and running at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Ill., for a week of seminars, exhibits, business networking, and plenty of fun.
The keynote address Tuesday night was given by John Mack III, co-founder and CEO of USBX, an investment banking firm with an emphasis in the security industry. USBX oversees many of the largest business transactions in the security business.
Mack spoke about the security industry's mergers and acquisitions market. He analyzed many of the trends and predicts that mergers and acquisitions will continue strong in 2007. He also gave tips to dealers regarding their own businesses. He especially advises dealers to build services revenue and to specialize in at least one vertical market. This will add great value to your company in the eyes of potential buyers, he explains.
Wednesday gave attendees the opportunity to walk the show floor and see the manufacturers' exhibits. This year PSA moved the day for exhibits earlier in the week, and this may have accounted for the heavier foot traffic. There were 13 new vendors at the PSA-TEC this year.
One of the new vendors, Exacq Technologies, almost didn't get accepted into the PSA Security Network, says Tom Buckley, director of marketing and sales, Exacq. He says that when PSA first heard that Exacq was into DVRs, they weren't interested because they had "35 other DVR vendors." However, once PSA saw that Exacq's hybrid NVRs were a good vehicle to allow dealers to begin the migration from analog to IP cameras, they were added as a new vendor.
A big theme here at the 2007 PSA-TEC, as you can probably imagine, is IP networking-especially IP video. On Tuesday, the IP UserGroup had educational sessions all day long for technicians and dealers to learn about IP, and much of the feedback from the attendees was positive. There were plenty of other seminars on IP throughout the week, provided by various vendors.
And if all the latest in security trends and technology weren't enough, there were cocktail parties, jam sessions with live music, and raffle prizes to keep everyone entertained. While PSA would ideally like to have the PSA-TEC in Denver (where the PSA is headquartered), the Pheasant Run Resort outside Chicago has served them well and will be the venue again next year.
To learn more about the PSA Security Network, visit www.psasecurity.com.
