A record 35,889 visitors from 126 countries took part in the recently concluded 21st edition of Intersec, which was held in Dubai, UAE.
The figure is a 23 per cent increase over the previous year (29,000 in 2018), said a statement.
Intersec, a leading trade fair for security, safety, and fire protection, was held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
With 1,212 exhibitors from 54 countries, six show sections, 15 country pavilions, live outdoor demonstrations, a drone zone, and the new Future Security Summit, Intersec was at its very best, where new business partnerships shared the stage with innovative product launches.
Organised by Messe Frankfurt Middle East, Intersec 2019 took up a sprawling 60,000 sq m at its Dubai venue, with fire and rescue forming the largest section, comprising 431 exhibitors.
Commercial security was the next largest with 375 exhibitors, followed by safety and health (142 exhibitors), information security (120 exhibitors), homeland security and policing (90 exhibitors), and physical and perimeter security (54 exhibitors).
Andreas Rex, Intersec’s show director, said: “We put in a lot of effort into making this edition of Intersec the most comprehensive yet in terms of increasing the diversity of our exhibitor range and offering a more engaging conference format, while at the same time returning with improved popular highlights such as the outdoor live demonstration area.”
“A lot of exhibitors used the event to not only announce important strategic business partnerships, but to launch their latest products for the global marketplace. The visitor response has certainly been the most pleasing aspect of the show this year and with the Dubai Expo 2020 coming up, we expect the 22nd edition of Intersec in 2020 to be even more successful,” he added.
Intersec is supported by the Dubai Police, Dubai Police Academy, Dubai Civil Defence, the Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA), and the Dubai Municipality.
A further 35 international government partners, trade associations, and non-profit institutions also participated this year.
Dubai Police was among the hundreds of exhibitors launching their latest solutions, and this year unveiled a hydrogen-powered drone which will be used to survey mountainous and marine areas.
Nearly two-thirds of the world’s top 50 security manufacturers were also on-board, including 17 of the top 20 incumbents comprising Hikvision, Dahua, Assa Abloy, Bosch Security Systems, Axis Communications, Flir Systems, Hanwha Techwin, Tiandy Technologies, Avigilon, Infinova, Optex, Vivotek, CP Plus, Nedap, Raysharp, Milestone Systems, and Kedacom.
Dubai-based Bristol, a global leader in fire protection services and equipment, unveiled the latest innovative firefighting technologies, including a UAE-built fire truck, fire suppression systems and powerful water pump solutions.
Meanwhile, smarter and safer cities were key themes that resonated throughout the event. This was underlined by a memorandum of understanding signed at the show between Smartworld, a UAE systems integrator, and Honeywell Building Solutions – the global leader in connected buildings – to implement digitally transformed, sustainable, safe and efficient buildings across the UAE.
The resounding visitor response to Intersec 2019 comes as demand for security, safety, and fire protection in the Middle East continues to climb. According to analysts 6Wresearch, the regional market for physical and perimeter security, commercial and information security, fire protection, and drones, is currently estimated to be worth $14.5 billion, with this estimated to grow to be worth $31 billion in 2024.
Attracting the most attention on the show floor were AI-based security and surveillance systems with applications across safe city systems and smart home security systems.
High-def IP-Network cameras and analytics software that can be used across various industries ranging from banking and retail to hospitality and oil & gas were also among those drawing the greatest interest.
Early feedback from the exhibitors was immensely positive and most were optimistic about business leads generated through their participation at Intersec 2019, with many commenting favourably about the show as a platform to reach influential decision makers in one of the world's most significant security markets.
Walid Gomaa, vice president Data Centre and Cloud Solutions Enterprise Business Group for Huawei, said: “We are a very important platform for Huawei because it enables us to show the capabilities of Huawei solutions to majority of the customers who are interested in different industries.”
“So we have seen some customers who are interested in safe city, smart transportation, education and hospitality. Intersec as a platform enabled us to bring all these industries here and talk to them. The Middle East market is growing, there are many visions, so Huawei is eager to help all our customers to do the digital transformation to support the nation’s vision,” he added.
Steve Jones, in charge of surveillance for EMEA at Seagate, said: “The Middle East market is very important to Seagate, which is why we are at the event to showcase our products and importance to the surveillance market, how we align our technology and how we embed our technology with our local and global partners.”
“We understand that there’s a distinct difference between the IT channel and surveillance channel and our focus really at the event has been to engage with that wider surveillance channel whether that be eco system partners, distributors, system integrators, end-users and so on,” he said.
“As far as the market goes, there’re massive opportunities with a good network of partners in the Middle East to help us grow,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service
