Innovation and Products to Take Centre Stage at IFSEC International 2015, Says Event Director Gerry Dunphy

Innovation is very much “to the fore” at this year’s IFSEC International with the 2015 edition promising greater emphasis on products and technology than previous shows.

That was the message from the show’s event director, Gerry Dunphy, who has been interviewed by Benchmark Magazine, which is running its Innovation Awards on the show floor for the first time.

“What we’ve decided to do is analyse what IFSEC is about as an event, and in our eyes it is very much about the products and technologies, so in 2015 you’re going to see some radical changes in what’s available for seminars,” Dunphy told the magazine.

“There will be a lot more about technology, with innovation to the fore.

Asked if a perception that IFSEC wasn’t beneficial for technology-based visitors had prompted the rethink he continued:

“No; the primary thing about IFSEC is that it’s driven by its technologies. It is the duty of the exhibitors to really push what they’ve got on their stands to the fore.

“Part of the project we have for this year is to tell the exhibitors to enforce what they have on their stands. If they want a prime discussion about solutions-based technology, then the stand is the place to have it.

“All the experts will be there: the R&D people, the technical sales, the solutions drivers and project managers. They’ll all be on the stands.”

The need for face-to-face contact remains undiminished in the digital age, Dunphy believes.

“If you go right to the nub of what an exhibition is about, it’s human interaction, it’s face-to-face social contact. Human beings are reliant on that.”

Products in action

But it’s not just about ‘pressing the flesh’, says Dunphy – which brings us back to the show’s shift in emphasis.

“They [visitors] do have a need to see what they’re going to be specifying and purchasing. They like to see products in action, and they’ll also have questions that will come up on the spur of the moment.”

If doubts remain about the viability of physical trade shows in 2015 then Dunphy says they’re not borne out by the numbers – not for IFSEC International at any rate.

“We aren’t seeing a decline in demand; in fact, we’re seeing growth.

“Exhibitions are a core way of getting a product to market. You can have all the videos you want, but its not going to replace seeing a product in action, seeing how to install it, asking key questions in real-time. That’s the essence of an exhibition.

“The visitor knows what they’re after. They are going to come with a ready-made list of questions and areas they want to look at.

“They view any solution that they’re working on as an amalgamation of systems anyway. They’re wise enough to go from one stand to another to piece together the solution they need for a particular project.

“The manufacturer obviously gets a huge return on investment from it because they continually invest and continually see value in coming to the event.”

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