Trends of ISC West 2016

• By Sydny Shepard
• Apr 12, 2016

ISC West is a trade show that gives security companies the opportunity to show off their latest inventions, coolest products and even their most influential employees. During my time at the show, I gained some insight into the security business as a whole. I was able to compare and contrast the industry just by standing in one (huge) room.

Now that the show is over, I can reflect on the products and companies I viewed at the show and really see the trends that were very apparent across multiple booths on the show floor. I found three trends to jump out at me most, installation made easy, new innovations for old products and the idea of prevention over reaction.

Installation Made Easy

At many of the booths I visited, they expressed how they were working to create a more intuitive system that can be used for those who aren’t as well versed in the IT side of security. The booth that made this trend most apparent was D-Link.

D-Link’s newest web-based management interface provides a user-friendly way for network administrators to manage the switch down to the port level. The interface can be accessed from a web browser, allowing the switch to be controlled from any network-connected PC. The user is able to quickly install and deploy the hardware and have a surveillance system up and running in no time.

Another company that is making security easier for the end user is Toucan. This company creates a camera that connects to a light bulb that fits into your porch light lighting space - thus creating a sort of doorbell camera. The system is connected to a mobile app in which you can monitor the footage of the camera and even listen to audio. Since the system is literally as easy as screwing in a light bulb it’s hard to pass up this camera.

Out with the New in with the Old

Another trend I saw within the booths on the show floor was the idea of taking a piece of security that now seems archaic to us, into a smart object. This was exemplified most through the use of the Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatcher.

Morse Watchman took a part of the original security system – the ole’ lock and key – and created a way to protect those keys from someone who shouldn’t have them. The KeyWatcher is a key holder of sorts that communicates with a smart keychain that you attach to the key. From there, you can program which users have access to what keys and when. It is a pretty modern twist on our old methods that many education systems, car dealerships and healthcare facilities implementing today.

The LTO Program is also taking something that to a layman would seem sort of ancient: tape. Turns out you can store up to six terabytes of video footage on a single square of tape – and that is one of the smaller sizes that LTO offers. To think of the amount of data that cameras around the world are gathering and where that footage has to go can sometimes feel overwhelming, but to know that the LTO Program is on top of the game by offering solutions that can help, makes us all feel a little better.

Prevention

The last trend I noticed at the show – and by far my favorite – was the idea of prevention. We are seeing a shift in security, from reactionary to prevention of the crime. We no longer would like to be alerted after someone has broken into our home or business, we would much rather have systems in place to scare off crime and that’s exactly what companies like BeOn Home and Kwikset are doing.

I’ve talked about BeOn Home a lot after visiting their booth at the show, and it is because I was just that impressed with the message that they gave off. If you want to read more about their product you can go here, or here.

Kwikset is also in the business of preventative measures. They create smart locks for your doorways that are most susceptible to break-ins. Their newest keypads are created to block out those who are just looking to copy-cat the entry code. There are special features that keep fingerprints from being seen and the numbers on the keypad will even shift around so that a pattern cannot be seen by someone sneaking up behind you. They also offer Bluetooth connected locks that use your smartphone device to unlock so that it takes all of the sneaky keypad number punches out of the equation.

Did you notice any trends at the show? What were your favorite products that you saw within those? Let me know, I am super curious to hear about your experiences!