GSX 2021: An Outsider’s Perspective

  • By Matt Jones
  • Sep 28, 2021

I’ve been the senior editor for Campus Security & Life Safety for a little under eight months. I don’t have much (read: any) previous security experience; my background is in journalism. GSX 2021 is my first security conference, my first trade show and — if I’m being honest — my first business trip ever. Unlike the vast majority of my fellow attendees, I had very little idea what to expect arriving at the Orange County Convention Center on Monday morning.

My first impression was of the sheer vastness of the facility, given the half-mile indoor walk from where our Uber dropped us off, through the health screening line, through the registration line, and onto the show floor itself. That impression was solidified as I navigated the entire length of the floor from the entrance to the Security Today booth at the far end. The walk took a good 15 minutes as I marveled and got my bearings. Flashes of smoke machines and laser lights, presentation screens, full-scale product demonstrations, black velvet curtains, complimentary coffee stations, multiple stages with seating for at least a hundred, a brand-new car waiting for its new owner to be chosen via raffle, and the chatter of thousands asking and telling about the wares on display swirled around me.

And yet, everyone I talked to offered some variation of the same sentiment: how scaled-back things were this year. The limited attendance. The smaller-than-usual vendor presence. How short the lines were, whether at booths or at the food court or even for the bathroom.

Meanwhile, having spent the last year and a half confined largely to a two-bedroom apartment, I felt a little like Dorothy leaving the sepia tinge of her Kansas farm for the sprawling technicolor wonderland of Oz. It was overwhelming at first. Even after the shock wore off, a sense of awe remained at the scale of it. The sense of glimpsing a larger world for the first time.

And if this year’s show was considered “scaled back,” I can’t even imagine what’s in store for me this time next year. GSX 2022 might be a little fuller, pandemic withstanding. But it’s only been a day, and I already suspect my experience at GSX 2021 will stick with me for some time to come. After all, you never forget your first trade show.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

Featured

  • Survey: 48 Percent of Worshippers Feel Less Safe Attending In-Person Services

    Almost half (48%) of those who attend religious services say they feel less safe attending in-person due to rising acts of violence at places of worship. In fact, 39% report these safety concerns have led them to change how often they attend in-person services, according to new research from Verkada conducted online by The Harris Poll among 1,123 U.S. adults who attend a religious service or event at least once a month. Read Now

  • AI Used as Part of Sophisticated Espionage Campaign

    A cybersecurity inflection point has been reached in which AI models has become genuinely useful in cybersecurity operation. But to no surprise, they can used for both good works and ill will. Systemic evaluations show cyber capabilities double in six months, and they have been tracking real-world cyberattacks showing how malicious actors were using AI capabilities. These capabilities were predicted and are expected to evolve, but what stood out for researchers was how quickly they have done so, at scale. Read Now

  • Why the Future of Video Security Is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reasons. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. Read Now

  • UL Solutions Launches Artificial Intelligence Safety Certification Services

    UL Solutions Inc., a global leader in safety science, today announced the launch of artificial intelligence (AI) safety certification services, enabling comprehensive assessments for evaluating the safety of AI-powered products. Read Now

  • ESA Announces Initiative to Introduce the SECURE Act in State Legislatures

    The Electronic Security Association (ESA), the national voice for the electronic security and life safety industry, has announced plans to introduce the SECURE Act in state legislatures across the country beginning in 2025. The proposal, known as Safeguarding Election Candidates Using Reasonable Expenditures, provides a clear framework that allows candidates and elected officials to use campaign funds for professional security services. Read Now

    • Guard Services
Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.