Impressions of a First-Time Visitor

First impression: This is huge; both the number of exhibitors and the number of visitors are overwhelming. It confirms my belief that security is an incredibly expanding market. And I got the same message as Andrea, that the manufacturers (and I would also bet, the end users) are looking to electrical contractors to handle installation, but also to serve as advisors, take care of maintenance and updating of systems, and even to arrange for monitoring services. It seems to me that the contractors who get there first are going to have a head start on a lucrative market.

Some notes from the education sessions: 

One item that I am guessing will make biometrics a more acceptable technology, is a smart card that stores the user's bio-data template, transmits it to the reader, which then compares the template to a live scan. That way you won't need a complicated system to transmit the live data from any of possibly many scanners to the head end where the template is stored. 

Another presentation I went to was given by Larry Mathias of the GSA. He is working on a project to improve the ability of the federal government to specify and purchase security systems, by creating an architecture showing the relationships among various security needs and solutions. I'm betting that this can be converted into a really useful resource for all of the vertical markets that have a need for security.