Beyond the Edge. When I see or hear that phrase, I think of early explorers. At one time, man used to think the earth was flat and once you reached the edge of the world, you would fall into the abyss. What was beyond the edge was unfathomable.
While Greek philosophers such as Aristotle and Eratosthenes theorized about a spherical earth, it wasn’t until the 1500s that it was proven. It was the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan who in 1519 led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe. The success of that circumnavigation proved the earth was round.
Where would we be without historical visionaries like Magellan? Where would we be today without those who constantly push beyond the edge of the envelope and challenge conventional wisdom and beliefs? Wouldn’t it just be easier to go along with what everyone else is doing, saying, and believing? Accomplishments that require going beyond the edge aren’t for the weak at heart. They take people with a strong core vision and belief set; they take people with great leadership skills. That’s what makes this theme so perfect for PSA TEC 2016.
This year, PSA TEC continues to expand the education programs and networking opportunities for attendees that have been the backbone of the event for more than 40 years. This year’s course lineup includes 50 brand new sessions all aimed at advancing and enlightening security professionals at ALL levels with six unique learning tracks to educate entire teams from technicians to business leaders. With key industry training and certification courses from partners like the Security Industry Association, CompTIA, leading security product manufacturers and a host of industry experts, the learning paths at PSA TEC 2016 will cover an array of topics including business management, sales and marketing, cybersecurity, operations, technical and information technology.
Always on the edge of industry innovation, PSA TEC will be offering courses on the evolving trend of robotics in security applications. With courses covering ground-based, aerial and marine robotics, PSA TEC will serve as the launch pad for a comprehensive program on this growing technology and market opportunities for today’s progressive integrators.
The PSA Cybersecurity program will be in full swing at PSA TEC this year with courses designed to offer new ideas and solutions for integrators on how to make cybersecurity a part of their businesses. Building on the awareness initiatives of 2015 around cybersecurity in the physical security market, PSA TEC will bring attendees sessions about what to do right now in their businesses to meet common standards, comply with federal policies, understand the role of each player in the supply chain and explore potential RMR opportunities.
The experts from the PSA Committees will also be presenting a collection of nine sessions covering project management, leadership, sales and marketing, cybersecurity, and technical topics. These sessions will focus on issues ranging from branding best practices, improving communication between operations and sales, managing expectations with project stakeholders, and roundtable discussions about leadership strategies and emerging technologies in the security industry.
Going “beyond the edge” at PSA TEC this year means that we will gather the brightest, most creative and compelling thought leaders in the security industry. We will ask them to dare to look beyond the edge and help us envision what our future will look like. We will bring in progressive products and services that we think will benefit our community now and in the future. We will conference, we will share, we will learn, we will grow and we will impart what we have learned to our compatriots when we return home.
Learn more about PSA TEC at www.psatec.com. Ric McCullough is vice president of sales and customer service for PSA Security Network. Request more information about PSA at www.securityinfowatch.com/10214742.
