Cutting-edge technology, over 350 immersive and experiential education sessions, thousands of innovative security products and services, and countless quality and lead-generating networking opportunities attracted 20,000 registered attendees and 550 exhibitors from more than 113 countries under one roof at the newly rebranded Global Security Exchange (GSX). With more than 15 percent growth in paid registration, ASIS International, one of the world’s largest associations for security management professionals, hosted their 64th annual conference during September 23-27, 2018 in Las Vegas in partnership with InfraGard, ISSA, and the Cyber Security Summit.
“ASIS International really took this year’s show up a notch – the quality of the networking alone that happened the very first night of GSX set the stage for some solid leads that brought great follow-up and product demonstration on the show floor,” said Janet Fenner, Chief Marketing Officer, Intelligent Security Systems, “We’ve met end user after end user at this show and have been doing nothing but following up with all of the leads we’ve brought in. Our team will be extremely busy working to secure business for months to come.”
GSX delivered on ASIS International’s promise of investing in and rebuilding a stronger and more expansive holistic security conference, bringing proven security best practices and education to the show and fostering much needed collaboration between operational and cyber security professionals. Education sessions featuring chief security officers from Amazon, Snapchat, Facebook, and MillerCoors had standing room only and covered critical topics including soft target protection, developing smart cities, preventing workplace violence, school security best practices, threats to critical infrastructure, and the future of AI and cybersecurity.
“The excitement, innovation and exceptional events this past week are just the beginning,” said Richard E. Chase, CPP, PCI, PSP, 2018 President, ASIS International, “Global Security Exchange, like our industry, will continually evolve. In fact, GSX is not just an event that will reconvene twelve months from now in Chicago. GSX is a brand that will continue to engage ASIS members, attendees and vendor partners as a security community all year long.”
The reimagined expo hall upended the traditional trade show experience, featuring immersive learning opportunities on three new X-Learning stages and experiential demos in the D3: Drones, Droids, and Defense learning theater. Scott Smith, Hardware Engineering Program Manager, Fortem Technologies shared, “GSX worked with us to create an exhibit and demo area where we could successfully demonstrate airspace safety, security, and the relevant threats. The consequent discussions, exploration, and debates on the topic have been very advantageous to Fortem Technologies, and we were able to get directly in front of our target buyers. We have found GSX to be tremendously valuable and look forward to continuing our relationship.”
Given the massive buying power of the GSX audience and the thousands of innovative products and services highlighted on the exposition floor, exhibitors and attendees engaged in substantive discussions about opportunities to purchase products and services, forge business relationships and establish partnerships. In fact, 86.4 percent of 2018’s GSX attendees are involved in their organization’s direct purchase of security technology, products and/ or services, and 40.5 percent have budgets in excess of $1 million.
“In the many years that our company has partnered with ASIS International, this year’s event was by far the best one to date,” said Steve Jones, CEO, Allied Universal, “From the quality of the customer and prospect engagement around our exhibit space to the terrific education our team participated in to the excellent networking receptions, the return on our investment far exceeded our already high expectations. We’re already looking forward to another outstanding event in Chicago next year.”
Event feedback has been extremely positive, with the security industry embracing the new show format. Michael S. D’Angelo CPP, CSC, CHPA, Security Consultant, Secure Direction Consulting, LLC noted, “Unlike many other security conferences, GSX brings together industry experts as well as end-users, technology providers and even the clients we serve. It’s great to see so many old colleagues and be introduced to several more. I’m heading back to work with increased knowledge and feeling genuinely at the top of my game.”
GSX heads to Chicago next year, where Peter J. O’Neil, FASAE, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, ASIS International promises, “In 2019, attendees will see even more experiential learning on our X stages, expanded partnerships and education programming, and an expo floor that provides an unparalleled experience for attendees and our vendor partners alike.”
