RX, the company that coordinates the event, said that more than 400 companies braved the triple digit temperatures to connect and show what they’ve been working on over the past 28 months.

“It’s been very exciting to re-engage with the industry in-person here this week,” said Will Wise, group vice president of RX. “ISC West is the first major physical and converged security event to take place in the U.S. since 2019. Attendees, exhibitors and speakers have been raving about the quality of the audience and the collective energy of the community taking a big step forward for the market.”

Mark Hillenburg, vice president of marketing at Digital Monitoring Products (DMP), was impressed with the turnout not only at the show itself, but at the company’s annual Owners Forum held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas the day before the conference.

“Our experience at ISC West was really good, and we had a great Owners Forum the day before and some really good traffic at the booth,” he said. “The attendance was obviously lower than previous years, but the quality of the attendees was still very strong. We are glad we made the investment.”

There were plenty of education opportunities both for in-person and virtual attendees. ISC West featured more than 65 virtual education sessions, which were pre-recorded and live-streamed, almost like television programming. These sessions were divided into 17 tracks, including COVID-19 Response and Public Safety and Health; Drones and Robotics; and Live @ ISC West, which featured recaps of the day and exclusive interviews with keynote speakers.

The conference’s first keynote featured Dave Komendat, vice president and chief security officer of the Boeing Company. In the keynote, he shared his thoughts on how the security industry will recover and grow as the pandemic subsides.

According to Komendat, security organizations, suppliers and integrators who can demonstrate a strong value proposition using defined metrics will survive and thrive; those who cannot will likely be challenged as businesses face a challenging future. Komendat concluded that, more than ever before, security leaders, suppliers and integrators must seek out internal partnership opportunities where the implementation of multi-use technologies and integrated solutions enhance efficiency and lower costs for multiple organizations within a company.

In one educational session, “Industry & Community Leadership: Creating a Path for the Vision,” Candace Aragon, vice president of marketing and events at PSA Security Network; Christine Lanning, president of Integrated Security Technologies; Kasia Hanson, global IoT partner sales leader at Intel; and John Nemerofsky, chief operating officer at Sage Integration, discussed and described how to build and develop a pathway to success with measurable, accountable outcomes. For all panelists, this includes diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that work to help women, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC employees thrive in the workplace.

For Nemerofsky, it’s as simple as doing the right thing, recalling when Sage Integration was founded, converged from two different companies.

“When we got there we had female staff members having the same role as male staff members for a third less pay. A lot of diversity, equity and inclusion is … making equal opportunities to everyone,” he said, pointing to Sage’s interview process.

Hanson, who chairs the Security Industry Association’s Women in Security Forum (WISF), explained that diversity and inclusion creates a common purpose in the workplace.

“I’m so glad that we continue to look at diversity and inclusion, because it only helps us for the greater good,” Hanson said.

In “Cyber Risk is Business Risk,” Antoinette King, founder, Credo Cyber Consulting; Christopher Peckham, chief operating officer, Ollivier Corporation; Gary Hoffner, vice president, PSLA Security; and Tyrone Chambliss, program manager, Northland Controls, gave an overview on how cyber risk is business risk from a financial, legal, operational and reputational standpoint. The panel shared how to identify cyber threats, threat actors and the different types of attacks. In short, it’s cheaper to be proactive than reactive, with the cost of ransoms, information retrieval and losses not covered by cyber insurance bankrupting companies who aren’t prepared.

According to King, however, lost faith in the business is the biggest loss of all.

“The cost of trust to a brand or organization is invaluable,” King said.

The day two keynote, “21st Century Best Practices: Law Enforcement and the Security Industry Confront Emerging Trends” was presented by James A. Gagliano, a retired FBI professional with a quarter-century of experience in mitigating criminal and terrorist threats. He highlighted essential 21st century adjustments in law enforcement and security postures, and addressed recent responses to contemporary challenges such as active shooters, bombings, domestic terrorism and pandemic issues.

With the world reopening again, Gagliano stressed the importance of balance, like balancing how much of the internet is monitored for threats, or balancing how much information facial recognition technology reads. With police budgets changing, security professionals often find themselves filling the gap.

“How do we find that sweet spot where we are anticipating what they’re going to do next?” Gagliano asked.

There was also a strong turnout for SIA events at the show, according to SIA CEO Don Erickson.

“SIA was thrilled to see people’s enthusiasm around ISC West and commitment to the show this year, and it was wonderful to be back in-person with our members and the industry as a whole,” Erickson said. “ISC West 2021 saw strong turnout for SIA’s signature events, the SIA Women in Security Forum keynote and breakfast, the SIA RISE networking event for young professionals, the ISC West Keynote Series and the SIA Education@ISC West conference program, and SIA enjoyed helping bring the industry together to explore the latest technologies, network, learn, share ideas and more.”

Security professionals are already looking forward to next year’s ISC West conference, which will take place March 22-25, 2022, at the Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas.

“Our team connected and reconnected with many end users, strategic and technology partners and consultants, and it was great to meet in-person once again,” said Diane Ritchey, marketing director, safety and security, Zenitel Americas. “See you next year!”

All virtual programming is available to attendees and appropriate ticketholders until the end of 2021. — By Amanda Reed, SDM Staff Editor and Courtney Wolfe, SDM Managing Editor //

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The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced the Pasco County Fla. Emergency Services 911 Communications Center is the 90th ECC in the United States and the 10th ECC in the state of Florida to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Pasco County went live on Tuesday, June 13 and Wednesday, June 14 with Vector Security, Rapid Response Monitoring, Securitas, Affiliated Monitoring, AT&T Digital Life, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Security Central, Protection One, National Monitoring Center, Vivint, Stanley Security, Guardian Protection, Alert 360 and ADS Security. Brinks Home Security and ADT will be brought online at a later date.

“Pasco County Emergency Services 911 is continually and consistently looking for ways to increase efficiencies and reduce call-processing times,” said Jody Kenyon, technical support manager. “ASAP delivers a method to help us achieve these goals by providing a service that improves efficiencies in the processing.” //

Openpath’s solution makes businesses more secure with multifactor authentication, enables a contactless entry experience and can be easily scaled and managed due to its cloud-based architecture.

“Securing businesses around the world has never been more critical,” said Greg Brown, chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions. “This acquisition enables us to combine the power of video security and access control together, providing unprecedented situational awareness, where every physical entry and exit is authenticated and recorded with access control and video.”

Businesses will have 24/7 visibility of their access points anywhere around the world and be able to provide a frictionless walk-through experience enabled by a mobile app. The combined leadership of Motorola Solutions and Openpath in video security and access control will allow Motorola Solutions to build on its extensive footprint in supporting enterprise customers.

“With Motorola Solutions, we will continue to pioneer the future of the access control industry,” said Alex Kazerani, CEO, Openpath. “We couldn’t be more excited to work together in bringing best-in-class, innovative solutions to organizations around the world to make their business a safer place to be.” //

“Business activity generally is up,” said one respondent in the consulting sector who rates current conditions as excellent. “All of my clients are experiencing good business activity right now and many are expanding capacity or into new markets.”

Within the next three months, 93 percent of security professionals believe business conditions will be either “much better” or “a little better.” Four percent expect no change in business conditions, and 2 percent expect them to be worse. In April, 85 percent of respondents expected improved conditions in the next three months, 11 percent expected conditions to remain the same, and 3 percent expected conditions to be worse.

“We are hiring and we are reopening our offices and getting people back moving in the field,” said one respondent in the video surveillance sector who reported an increase in the number of employees or hours worked.

Special focuses of SIA’s June/July 2021 SMI include:

• Continued growth in video surveillance market confidence.

• The highest integration SMI since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Perspectives on the pandemic’s impact on business over the past 15 months.

Download the June/July SMI on SIA’s website. //

President of SAC, Justin Allbright, recently announced the acquisition of Omnitech Communications & Protection Inc. (OCP) based in Bradenton, Fla. SAC has recently acquired alarm and automation companies in Manatee and Charlotte Counties. SAC, founded in 1979, is a full-service low voltage systems integration company; SAC installs and services security alarms, fire alarms, camera surveillance systems, access control solutions, and structured cabling serving all West Florida.

“I am excited to announce the OCP acquisition as we continue to grow in Manatee and Sarasota counties,” Allbright said. “The OCP customers and employees fit well with our culture and service model. SAC is in growth mode; we are expanding our reach geographically in West Florida, now serving commercial and residential customers in 10 counties.”

SAC will be announcing more solutions and capabilities for both its residential and commercial customers this summer, including managed services focused on simplifying access control credential management for facilities and communities. //

In accordance with ESA bylaws, two integrator and one associate member director positions were open for two-year terms.

The new board members are: Melissa Brinkman, CEO, Custom Alarm, Rochester, Minn.; Jeremy Bates, president, Bates Security, LLC/Sonitrol of Lexington, Inc., Lexington, Ky.; and Jason Lutz, distribution sales leader, Resideo Technologies, Austin, Texas.

Brinkman currently serves on the boards of directors for SPARK, Rochester Area Economic Development Inc. (RAEDI), Lourdes Foundation Inc. (LFI) and Think Bank. She also serves as an advisor with some security industry manufacturers.

Bates serves as president of Bates Security LLC/Sonitrol of Lexington Inc. His family’s company is based in Lexington, Ky. and has a total of four offices. Bates recently completed his term as the Kentucky ESA president and has recently served as the Sonitrol National Dealer Association’s president and currently serves on the board of Lexington’s YMCA organization.

Lutz’ security industry career began over 25 years ago as a sales rep for a national company in Houston, Texas. Lutz has served as an ESA associate board member for the past three years and represents the interest of the associate members on the STRAP and bylaws committees. //

For example, voting unanimously to reject such a measure in May, a Senate Committee in New Hampshire cited concerns about potential impact on counties and municipalities and “negative impact on the ability of law enforcement to conduct investigations into, and prosecute cases against, child sex offenders and human traffickers.” In February, the city of Honolulu expressed concerns that a bill introduced in Hawaii would limit the ability of local law enforcement to access databases managed by the federal government and other states that are routinely used to assist in criminal investigations. In May, the Colorado House Committee on Business Affairs and Labor voted 12-0 to reject a measure banning public sector use of facial recognition technology, following testimony from the Colorado Department of Labor, the Colorado Department of Justice and the Colorado Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, citing the impact to public safety, as well as the importance of identity verification applications to detect fraud in state programs.

Where statewide legislation has succeeded, it is limited to measures solely or primarily targeting law enforcement applications. Vermont and Virginia are the only states passing outright bans applicable to law enforcement use. Massachusetts established conditions applicable only to law enforcement, through its police reform measure. While a broad public sector ban was initially considered in Maine, the legislature passed an amended measure in June that allows for law enforcement use under narrow conditions.

Additionally, according to SIA, outright bans do not allow for use of technology tools several organizations have made available to law enforcement to assist with child sexual exploitation and human trafficking investigations. This extends even to tools for analysis of digital evidence in such cases and is why the legislature in Vermont passed a bill in May — just a few months later — to exempt such software from the ban.

The most recent and comprehensive public opinion research on facial recognition shows that 70 percent of Americans are comfortable with use of the technology to improve security at their workplace, and six in 10 are favorable toward the technology generally. //