Security Profession’s Premier Event Celebrates its Success and Looks to the Future
Even before its 52nd Annual Seminar and Exhibits (held September 25-28, 2006 in San Diego) had concluded, ASIS International (ASIS) — the preeminent organization for security management professionals worldwide — had begun preparing for next year’s show.
Now, with the 2006 event firmly in the past — as well as the ASIS history books for the record-setting attendance it drew — all eyes have turned to Las Vegas, the city that will play host to the 53rd iteration of the security profession’s premier event on September 24-27, 2007.
“The ASIS Seminar and Exhibits has become a staple of the security industry,” said Jeff Spivey, CPP, PSP, 2006 ASIS President, adding that the annual event’s education, exhibits and networking components directly support the organization’s mission of advancing security worldwide. “We look forward to enhancing the event every year to meet the evolving needs of the security profession.”
But topping ASIS 2006 will not be an easy task. An unprecedented 22,230 security professionals from around the world and across the industry attended the event, according to a report provided by BPA Worldwide, the third-party auditing firm hired by ASIS to verify total attendance. The record turnout represented a 13.3 percent increase over the 2005 show’s attendance of 19,619.
More important than the numbers themselves though, was what the crowds were flocking to. Long recognized as the world’s largest show dedicated to security, ASIS 2006 proved to be the best educational opportunity in the industry as well, with a program highlighted by insightful keynote speeches from the Honorable Bob Dole and Former White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card, Jr., as well as 155 education sessions of interest and importance to security practitioners of all experience levels. Through sessions focusing on everything from homeland security, crisis management, physical security and IT/information security, to investigations, management, crime/loss prevention and more, ASIS reconfirmed itself as security’s most trusted resource.
History was made in the exhibit hall too during the 2006 show, with a record-breaking 950 exhibiting companies showcasing the latest innovations, technology and services that are shaping the industry today. Manufacturers and distributors of such security-related technologies as privacy-conscious full body scanners, tactical-timed firing devices, modular crash barriers, the latest developments in RFID and network video and much more, all demonstrated their products. In fact, more than 200 new products were introduced or first displayed at ASIS 2006.
With its record-setting attendance, top-notch education sessions, bustling tradeshow floor and the unique networking opportunities created by all of these components, ASIS 2006 definitely lived up to its reputation as the world’s largest event dedicated to security.
Far from cowering in the shadows of its very successful predecessor however, ASIS 2007 is riding the momentum and gearing up to offer security professionals an even bigger and better event next year.
Former U.S. Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Kissinger will serve as a keynote speaker, highlighting what is certain to be an educational program as diversified and informative as it is entertaining. Industry-leading technologies will take center-stage in an exhibit hall showcasing security’s best and newest products, innovations and services. And more than 23,000 security professionals of all levels from around the world will gather, creating unparalleled networking opportunities.
In short, ASIS 2007 promises to deliver the global and domestic strategies and knowledge base security experts everywhere are searching for to ensure that challenges and threats facing their organizations are met and diffused head-on.
To register, or for more information on the ASIS International 53rd Annual Seminar and Exhibits — being held September 24-27, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV — visit www.asisonline.or/asis2007 or call 703-519-6200.