Volume 83

Volume 83 | December 5, 2024

PS: I am sure some of you may forward this, but please do so sparingly and encourage others to sign up here. Thank you!

Next up for me is:

• Another trip to New York for the Security Investor Conference by Imperial Capital (speaking and coverage)

• Then to Groenlo, NL (outside Amsterdam) to meet with the leadership team at NEDAP (coverage)

Also, more info coming soon:

• Intersec Dubai and the Thought Leadership Pavilion

• ISC West in Las Vegas with the AI Zone and much more

• The Security Event in Birmingham, UK, with the XForum and the Night of Access industry night happy hour (RSVP now as we only have 100 spots for what will be a great night of fun and networking)

And wait, there’s more: AC/MA Summit is live and tickets are on sale now! The AC/MA Summit, in partnership with Houlihan Lokey is a comprehensive half-day event (3/4/2025 in NYC) tailored for professionals in banking, corporate development, private equity, and venture capital interested in the global access control industry. Featuring these topics and attendees, this summit provides unique networking opportunities, insightful keynotes, and engaging panel discussions—a first-of-its-kind event for the access control industry.

On the Back of ISC East: Impressions, Observations, and Quick Thoughts

As many of us emerge from Thanksgiving (US) and approach the year's end, I'm filled with emotion and excitement. I'm grateful for everything we accomplished this year, particularly the incredible support you've shown me and Hilary during our second year. I'm energized about 2025 because, despite the uncertainties, an inevitable transformation is underway—bringing abundant opportunities. From my unique vantage point speaking with many of you, I can confidently say this: regardless of your geography, your role in the tech or support stack, or your company's age, you're well-positioned for growth if you focus on two things.

First, prioritize leadership over management.

Second, reimagine your business for the next 30 years instead of just protecting the past 30. The level of success you achieve will directly reflect the effort you invest. I am confident in this.

To quote Nike's timeless slogan: "Just do it."

ISC East Impressions

ISC East was a huge success for The Access Control Collective and, based on conversations with many members, for you as well. The show has evolved from simply ISC West's sister show and a GSX alternative into a specialized Northeast US security show that caters to its region's unique constituents and verticals. It also presents a significant opportunity as a gateway to the European market, especially as companies evaluate their trade show budgets, consider the declining relevance of GSX and IFSEC, and recognize the clear business case for attending an event in New York City—which, let's face it, is always a great destination. New York remains a bellwether city for global brands, making it an essential market presence.

I commend RX Media (the show owner) and the Security Industry Association (the show partner) for recognizing the need to reinvent the show's identity. They're successfully positioning ISC East as a New York-centric, vertically focused event. I fully support this direction—we've committed our time and formed a paid partnership with them. I bring this up not just for transparency's sake but to express that we are pretty picky about where we spend our time and with who (paid or not), and by engaging with RX, we are sending a clear signal that we believe this is a place where our time, energy, and resources are best spent. And we walked away from ISC East even more sure of this than we were going into it.

As evidence of their focused approach (and our involvement), ISC East launched a new Critical Infrastructure Pavilion at the show. This featured companies specializing in critical infrastructure, including Access Control Executive Brief Members AXIS Communications, IDCUBE, and i-PRO. The pavilion included a dedicated exhibition area, a comprehensive digital marketing campaign before, during, and after the show, and a devoted presentation time on The Bridge. Each company had the opportunity to showcase its identity, explain the challenges it addresses, and demonstrate its solutions. It was tremendously successful based on feedback from participating companies and the engaged audiences at both hour-long sessions of 7-minute presentations over two days. Although not confirmed, I anticipate that they will be expanding this focused approach to include other verticals like retail, commercial real estate, and healthcare.

Two Additional Areas of Excellence

The show excelled in two additional areas: networking opportunities and a mobile-focused breakfast discussion that I had the pleasure of moderating.

First, regarding networking, New York makes it effortless. Unlike Dallas or Orlando, there's no grumbling about the location—the city offers a natural ease for gatherings. With countless great venues available, connecting comes naturally. The attendance across all professional levels was impressive, and I appreciated how seamlessly I could network, form new connections, and reconnect with familiar faces. While other shows offer networking opportunities, ISC East's location in New York is an under-appreciated asset that sets it apart and positions it for continued growth.

Second, the breakfast panels were a success. I'm admittedly biased, as I moderated one focusing on mobile wallets with Danny Smith of ColorID, Mike Green of LenelS2/Honeywell, and Jason Glover of Wavelynx. The SIA Standards Committee organized this breakfast to spark fresh ideas and discussions, which I believe we achieved. Rather than rehash the usual mobile wallet talking points, I'll skip straight to my main takeaways.

Mobile Messaging = Hot Mess

We're a hot mess regarding mobile wallets, NFC, Bluetooth, all of it—me included. The narratives are wrong(ish). The value proposition being communicated is wrong(ish). It's right(ish), but only because we're in the early stages of figuring out mobile, NFC, and wallets. We don't have a collective compelling reason for why someone should adopt mobile, especially NFC wallets. More importantly, we haven't clearly explained what problems mobile and NFC wallets solve. The "why" behind adoption hasn't fully developed yet. While we have promising ideas, they haven't yet crystallized into a unified value proposition—something essential for what many believe will revolutionize the industry. We're in this situation because we're in the early adopter phase and lack dedicated marketing and communication resources allowed to work on branding, combined with an opportunistic business environment and a hype cycle driven by Big Tech companies. This has led to a back-and-forth focused on "why me" versus "why mobile" or "why wallets." Sure, we occasionally hear simple arguments like "you never forget your phone,"—but is that really the value proposition we want to build upon?

No, it is not.

We, including me, must collectively develop a unified industry message about "why" and "here's the value it brings" to encourage the transition from traditional cards to mobile and wallet solutions, or at least include them among the options given to users.

Yes, we still need the "why me," but we must start with "why us" or "why it" overall and stop confusing that with the "why me."

I plan to spend some time on what I'm calling the "Wallet Wars"—my playful term for how we're all currently communicating the "why me" or "why or why not" regarding mobile or NFC Wallets.

Here's my running list of "Wallet Wars" statements we commonly hear and that were voiced at the breakfast discussion:

• "The process or the different stakeholders needed to make it all happen is expensive" vs. "we do it all, and we make it cheap."

• It's cheap "because it does so much" vs. "It's expensive when it's just a card in the phone."

• "NFC or Die" vs. "don't forget about Bluetooth."

• "In general, it's complicated, don't worry, we got you" vs. "it is so easy anyone can do it."

• "Don't get caught; we aren't proprietary" vs. "Don't get caught; we are proprietary"

• "Mobile is insecure" vs. " Biometrics, cards, and others are not" vs." Does anyone really care?"

• "Do we really trust Apple or Google?" vs. "It's Apple or Google; of course I trust them."

• "Badge doesn't matter" vs. "Never going to happen because we need the badge."

• "It's a US vs. Europe thing."

• "I'll wait" vs. "I'm all in"

• "We are a company" vs. "a feature being opportunistic because legacy companies won't, so we will do this for you, but don't forget we also do other stuff."

• "Scale" vs. "early adoption"

• "Direct vs. indirect": "It is for integrators" vs. "This is not for integrators."

• "Complexity means I got this: specifiers, where do they fit?"

Are there any others I'm missing? There are a lot.

Quick Thought on the Secondary Effect of Mobile

While walking the show and speaking with many respected voices in our industry, I noticed an emerging secondary effect—an unintended ripple effect from the primary changes in our industry. Based on my global observations, the focus on NFC Wallets has sparked increased interest in biometrics (particularly non-fingerprint solutions like SAFR and Metaiam) and smart(er) cards (like Sentry Enterprises).

Here are my developing thoughts on why (though they're still taking shape):

1. For many in the channel and customer base, adopting biometrics or smart(er) cards seemed too ambitious when cards were the norm - call it a bridge too far. But now that NFC Wallets (now the bridge too far) have disrupted the status quo, these once-distant possibilities suddenly feel more attainable.

2. NFC Wallets have created a platform and amplified the conversation about "what else?" While biometrics and smart(er) cards have always existed in their own space, they've never had this level of visibility or reach. It's become a rising tide situation—the smaller vessels (biometrics and smart(er) cards) now share the same waters as the massive cargo ships. Biometric and smart(er) card companies have never invested enough money.

3. This shift reveals an identity crisis in our industry between experts and the general population ("Gen Pop"). Historically, Gen Pop accepted whatever access credentials and the modality we provided without questioning alternatives. As security experts, we'd say, "You'll use these cards to enter the building," that was that. Then Gen Pop saw phone-based access demonstrated at Apple's WWDC or Google I/O or in buildings in their area and said, "We want that!" Our industry experts responded, "Hold on—we're the authorities here. We determine what's needed for access." Needing more than just "no" for an answer, the experts evaluated options and returned with, "We hear you want something different. Instead of phones, we recommend these smart(er) cards or biometric readers that our industry endorses and have been around for a while. Our analysis shows they're more secure, cost-effective, superior overall, and, you know, badges. Trust me." But is that really true? Or are we experts just trying to maintain control over the narrative? I'm being intentionally provocative here, but let's be honest—we're accustomed to being in charge. We're the trusted security experts. We bring what's needed to them. What becomes our role if we're not seen as the authority? Is this assessment accurate? I'm not entirely sure. But even if there's just a 1% chance it's true, consider the global implications of that 1%, especially in these early adoption stages.

Always Opportunities for Improvement

Like our shows and, frankly, everything we do here at The Access Control Collective, no matter how great things are, there is always an opportunity for improvement. ISC East is the same, and I hope they take a hard look at a couple of areas of improvement.

First, the education sessions. Although there were great topics and speakers, more people need to attend. There is an opportunity to rethink these sessions, the number of sessions, and how they are marketed. Maybe not even doing them off the show floor and bringing them to The Bridge (based on the energy I saw on The Bridge).

And second, the 10x10 pipe and drape booths need a reimagined look. Some companies have already started that redesign, but something that you see in the European, Middle East, and other markets are purpose-built booths. It just looks more finished. I recognize the costs and market differences, but it's just an observation shared by a few people I talked to at the show.

Must Attend

I'm often asked, "Which shows should I attend in 2025?" I would make ISC East a must-attend event. We plan to be there in 2025 and look forward to expanding our relationship with RX. The time and energy invested here yield exponential returns. However, you need to approach it properly. What does "properly" mean? It means rethinking how you present yourself. If you plan to use the same approach you've used for the past 5–10+ years, you're doing yourself a disservice. Instead, reimagine your presence, clarify your goals, embrace an omnichannel strategy, and prioritize networking. Do this, and you'll be well on your way to a successful show—standing out from the crowd and maximizing everything ISC East and New York offer.