Veni, vidi, vici

The Turing team enjoyed everything ISC East 2018 had to offer: an amazing group of exhibitors and attendees, over 40 educational sessions during the show, the newly renovated Javits Center as our venue, and evening explorations in the city that never sleeps.

When we weren't chatting and demoing Nimbo with booth visitors, our team was exploring the floor of ISC East to scout out big trends and hidden treasures in the security space.

In this article, we'll take a closer look what we found at ISC East and how this shows us the future of security.

What we found

We can break down our findings into a few categories with one, over-arching theme: emerging technology is creating disruption in the security space. Here are the three profound tech trends we saw at ISC East:

1. Big Data and IoT devices
2. Automation and digitization
3. Integration versus siloed services

"... The security industry is a largely unnoticed tech segment that is GROWING and so important." -@mjcback9 via Twitter

Big Data and IoT devices

If we look at the security industry's timeline, there are some key moments that dramatically changed its course (think: CCTV cameras, motion detection, smart buildings).

Big Data and IoT are the culmination of these innovations, they are the link that closes the circle. In other words, the tech that has been the driving force of the industry for the past several decades is now able to communicate with each other and with humans. Motion sensors and access control now have cloud connectivity, VMS platforms can track and predict events over time, and smart buildings communicate with security devices throughout the property.

On the consumer facing side, smart home technology was a hot topic at ISC East. In fact, our booth neighbors, Bosma Smart Home, offer home technology that can be installed in a matter of minutes. Another big player in the home security space, Ring, showed off their arsenal of home security IoT devices, everything from lights to cameras to doorbells. IoT technology is already penetrating the consumer market (with great success), and businesses have to keep up. With mass consumer awareness of IoT tech, it's becoming an expectation that businesses are familiar and well-equipped with the latest and greatest innovations in this space.

In terms of Big Data, several education sessions were created around analytics, data-driven intelligence, and risk management using the power of data. Philip Halpin, Senior VP/Head of Global Security at Brown Brothers Harriman, said during his keynote speech, "When I am home or using my iPhone, I am living in a different world; but when I go to work I go back to the 1950s. Why am I living this different experience?" In over ten educational sessions, industry thought leaders discussed the impact analytics and data has on the security space, and the importance of staying up to date on the newest tech had to offer.

Automation and digitization

Automation and digitization stole the show (we might be a little biased, but who's to say?). From the Unmanned Security Expo (USE) to presentations on automation throughout ISC East. At USE, we saw industry-leading technology: drones, robotics, and AI. In terms of exciting newcomers to the space, Ghost Robotics stood out amongst the crowd, introducing their canine-style, outdoor robot (see the video below). Their robot solutions offers something we haven't seen much of in the commercial physical security space: multi-terrain capabilities, flexible add-ons and integrations, and the ability to carry a decently-sized payload.

“Are we in the fourth industrial revolution? Let’s look at examples,” he said. “Mobile, super computers, robots, self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering -- I am kind of thinking we are there. The key is in the speed of all these. Things are happening much faster. Before there were big things happening, but there were 100 years in between them. Now every week there is something new occurring.” -Philip Halpin, Senior VP/Head of Global Security at Brown Brothers Harriman

We also saw a variety of drone solutions. ConnexiCore stood out with their data collection and analytics capabilities. In terms of physical security applications, drones offer a compelling solution: the ability to deploy rapidly, access several vantage points from the sky, avoid objects on the ground, follow suspects and collect video footage, and transmit data in real-time. If you've followed Turing since our inception, you might recall our drone solution (as seen here). Although this project has been put on hold, the core idea is still one of interest as drones would allow for surveillance of parking lots, large compounds, and vast perimeters. We see drones as being an inevitable part of comprehensive security solutions in the near future.

Integration vs siloed services

Last, but certainly not least, integration played a key component in many of the technologies and solutions we saw at ISC East. We used to live in a world where tools and platforms were static beings (think: VMS and access control and building automation were all separate). As you can imagine, things are changing. There is even a market of companies that host SaaS integrations between platforms that previously did not exist. In the same way that Salesforce integrates with nearly any other SaaS tool on the market, security solutions are following suit.

We saw everything from consumer integrations like pairing smart doorbells with Alexa and Google Home to business integrations like video analytics with VMS platforms. The important concept behind these integrations is that they are empowering guard companies, integrators, and end users to build a customized toolbox for their security systems. Users can pick and choose where, when, and how their tools integrate, which creates a more open economy between security and tech providers. Rather than the world of cookie cutter solutions, we are now able to drive deeper and deeper and create a refined, totally customized solution. Here's to the world of endless integrations!

Long story short...

ISC East was well worth the 14 hours of travel, 3 inches of snow, and 2 days of jam-packed schedules. We want to thank everyone who stopped by our booth to say hello, meet Nimbo, and ask questions. It's exciting to see the world of security evolve toward a smarter future, and we are honored to be a part of the change.