Exclusive: Intersec delivers once again
James Thorpe
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From 16-18 January 2022, more than 18,000 visitors and 500+ exhibitors reconnected at Intersec in Dubai, UAE.
Following a COVID-enforced hiatus, the Middle East’s largest security trade show, Intersec returned from 16-18 January 2022. It was fantastic to once again walk around the halls of the World Trade Centre in Dubai and see the latest state-of-the-art security solutions showcased by the industry’s biggest names.
Throughout all three days of the show, there was a real buzz and excitement at the opportunity to reconnect in a face-to-face environment after such a long period of virtual-only events in the region.
In addition to the exhibition, there was also a brilliant conference program compiled by the Messe Frankfurt team, with the hottest topics in global security discussed and dissected by some of the world’s foremost thought leaders.
Industry transformation
Speaking exclusively with International Security Journal, Alex Nicholl, Head of Intersec reflected on the success of the show: “We’re absolutely delighted with the industry response to Intersec’s 23rd edition in January 2022, after what has been a challenging couple of years.
“Our objective was to reunite the entire global community of commercial security, emergency response and safety, in what was the industry’s first major trade fair since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in 2020.
“Having attracted 18,122 visitors from 108 countries, with 522 exhibitors and 6,000-plus brands from 47 countries, we certainly achieved this, with the show running under the general theme of uniting for the safety and wellbeing of future generations.”
Nicholl continued: “We wanted to bring to the forefront the massive transformation the industry has witnessed and driven, over the last two years as the world navigates a post-pandemic recovery strategy.
“This is why we placed a lot of emphasis on our plethora of value-added features in 2022, spearheaded by a six-strong conference programme with upwards of 250 expert speakers, including several leading global figures in cybersecurity, homeland security and intelligence.
“We also added this year several workshops in collaboration with our government partners, a Tech Disruption Zone for those innovators breaking new ground in cyber, fire protection, safety and security; and Start Smart, a dedicated area for start-ups to connect with key decision makers, buyers and investors.
“While we’re not always privy to deals struck at the show, we were delighted to provide the stage for our government partners to sign several Memorandums of Understandings, underlining Intersec as a platform to announce important strategic partnerships.”
He concluded: “All this in addition to a buzzing exhibition floor, with the biggest names in the business launching their latest innovations to the market. The atmosphere was palpable throughout, with all the appropriate measures in place to help keep participants safe.
“It was immediately clear from day one when doors opened, right through to the final call on day three, that the industry had been eagerly waiting to reconnect and reengage in a physical face-to-face trade fair environment again and we feel privileged to be able to provide that.
“Now we already turn our attention to Intersec’s 24th edition in January 2023, where we will build on the success of this year’s show in conjunction with our government partners and advisory board.”
Preparing for what comes next
As Nicholl highlighted, the conference program was one of the real stars of the show. A stellar line-up of experts from around the globe came together to debate the latest developments in security and to help prepare the audience for what lies ahead throughout 2022 and beyond. The six conference pillars were Global Security Leaders’ Summit, Protecting Future Connected Cities & Citizens Conference, Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure Conference, Agile First Responders Conference, Cyber Lab and a dedicated KSA Focus Day.
The speakers included Britain’s former Chief of Defence Staff, Sir Nick Carter, ex-MI6 Chief, Sir Alex Younger and Ethical Hacker and Social Engineer, FC. Across the three days, a number of topics were discussed, including:
- Security in a pre and post pandemic world – Leaders’ insights into key learning points from the pandemic
- Enhancing cooperation by removing national barriers to combat threats – the technology opportunities and challenges presented
- The future of law enforcement building resilience and enabling innovation and future security
- Homeland security – Maritime surveillance and security
- Future foresight planning to enable national development
The majority of the conference sessions were incredibly well attended with security professionals eager to learn about how security will look and operate in a post-COVID world.
Showcasing excellence
As in previous years, the biggest security providers were out in full force demonstrating their latest cutting-edge solutions and services. Exhibitors included Hikvision, Dahua Technology, MOBOTIX, ASSA ABLOY, Genetec, Morse Watchmans, Altronix, ACRE plus many more.
Solutions from sectors such as video surveillance, access control, intruder detection and cybersecurity were all on display for visitors to view. International Security Journal caught up with two Intersec exhibitors to find out what they made of the event.
Jason Wakefield, Sales Director of Todd Research Ltd said: “Todd Research has long been a regular exhibitor at Intersec, the show is well situated and well positioned within the industry to always deliver a high calibre footfall. We were quite apprehensive about exhibiting this year as we didn’t know what the COVID situation would be and if people would travel to the show. I am pleased to say that Intersec surpassed our expectations both with the quantity and the quality of visitors to our stand. We had three jam-packed days of demonstrations to both distributors and end users that have never seen our world class technology in person. It has become apparent during our follow up action that the visitors were genuine and we have had a number of quoting opportunities directly related to this event.”
Sam Ong, Founder and CEO of TRD Singapore added: “As a first-time exhibitor, Intersec has provided us an important platform to introduce our innovation, proven solution, as well as to share our knowledge in anti-drone systems not only to UAE, but also the entire Middle East, Africa and beyond. On the second day of the show, it was heart-breaking to hear a drone attack in the nearby Abu Dhabi airport took away three civilian lives while we were showcasing our anti-drone systems in the expo. This is not the first drone attack but surely will not be the last as these emerging threats are getting increasingly real. Our company looks forward to further discussion with visitors we meet at the show on business partnerships and technology cooperation to rapidly build up CUAS capabilities in the region so that we can “fly” better and faster than the “terrorists” can and make life safer!”
The remainder of 2022 looks set to provide numerous challenges for the global security industry, with the geopolitical landscape becoming ever more tense, cyber-attacks rising exponentially and any remaining COVID-19 restrictions still needing to be navigated. There is no doubt that Intersec 2022 has left the industry in a much better position to overcome these challenges.
To keep up-to-date with the latest news and developments regarding Intersec 2023, please visit www.intersec.ae.messefrankfurt.com
This article was originally published in the March 2022 edition of International Security Journal. Pick up your FREE digital edition here.
