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TECH TALK ASSESSING ANNUAL ASIS ASSEMBLAGE bdolph.ssi@gmail.com The annual ASIS tradeshow has long been considered one of the security industry's most important events. Discover some of the interesting developments to come out of this year's event in Philadelphia. A Yours truly (right) keeping current on the SALTO access control product line with a demonstration of the latest by Senior Vice President Commercial Sales Michael Mahon at the ASIS 2012 show in Philadelphia. The product was one of SSI's Top 30 Technology Innovations for 2011. re you busy at work? If not, are you looking for some new technology ideas to generate more business? Did you get a chance to attend this year's huge annual ASIS trade- show in Philadelphia? What am I getting at? Well if you were tied up with work you may not have had the time to attend the exposition and conference. Even if you had the time to spare, the cost of the trip may not have been within your budget. T e fact is only a relatively small percentage of industry profession- als have the inclination and resources to partake in even the highest profi le of industry conventions. Have no fear! Tech Talk Bob is here, and I was fortunate enough to be able to take part in this hectic, fun and fascinating event. Although show attendance and fl oor traffi c was noticeably lighter than usual, there were nevertheless plenty of noteworthy exhibits, product introductions and other happenings. So allow me to be an extension of your senses and sensibility as I share some of the tech items and issues that caught my attention. For those who did attend, please pass along your own observations as well. ORGANIZER HAS ITS ACT TOGETHER First off , if you are a systems dealer or integrator who is not familiar with the ASIS organization, you may be missing out on some serious business networking and educational opportuni- ties. T e association, which is international but also has local U.S. chapters, presently has 38,000 members worldwide (see sidebar for more). I have been a member since 1979 and remember the development of the ASIS certifi cation program. An ASIS 24 / SECURITYSALES.COM / NOVEMBER 2012 membership is one of the leading ways to distinguish and legitimize oneself as a security business professional. T e Physical Security Professional (PSP) certifi cation program may be of special interest to you. As for this year's gathering in Philly, I commend ASIS show organizers for making a special eff ort to set timeslots aside each day where only the exhibit hall was open and active. T is approach frees up many attendees who might otherwise be engaged in the event's established and respected educational and certifi cation sessions. T e expo's three days was a bustling time for the exhibitors to show off their latest and greatest wares to attendees, most of whom were high level end users, installing contractors or consultants. T is show in particular provides one of the best opportunities to see some of the bigger applications of security technology used by major corporations and government. LOTS OF COMMOTION ABOUT THE CLOUD One of the most prominent discussions at ASIS 2012 was on the pros and cons of utilizing cloud services for security technologies, such as video management. T ose in favor believe the cloud off ers scalability, cost savings and security. Being able to adjust the size of video storage as a customer's needs grow and contract, and passing along savings by not having to invest directly in servers and hard drives for storage seems to be popular. T ose critical and skeptical of cloud services state that dealers should be careful of committing to third-party storage services that might not off er the ease to change to other cloud services in the future. Contractual deployment issues and by Bob Dolph Bob Dolph has served in various technical management and advisory positions in the security industry for 30+ years. To share tips and installation questions, E-mail Bob at bdolph.ssi@gmail.com. Check out his Tech Shack blog at www.securitysales.com/blog.