More than 50 000 registered attendees visited Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) from 4 to 6 February this year. To be exact, a whopping 51 003 AV and electronic lovers walked through the Amsterdam RAI doors in the Netherlands, making history and further supporting the trade show’s reputation as the world’s most popular event for professional AV and electronic systems integration. A record 952 quality exhibitors showcasing an outstanding variety of new technologies fuelled attendee growth of 15% over last year’s figure of 44 151.
History
As you may already know, ISE was launched in 2004 as a direct result of the emerging markets of professional AV and electronic systems integration. Needless to say, the show grew quickly to become the largest annual marketplace for these industries and an opportunity for subsequent networking, education and technological innovation to unfold.
ISE has always been owned by not-for-profit trade associations, and has been a joint venture between InfoComm International and the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA) since 2007. As well as ensuring that all proceeds from ISE are reinvested in the industry, these associations act as the cornerstone of the event’s extensive education programme, which continues to grow year-on-year.
Events and training
An enlarged Professional Development programme, including off-floor training sessions hosted by CEDIA and InfoComm International, further added to the show’s popularity this year. Both associations also contributed seminars to the event’s new on-floor theatres dedicated to Residential and Commercial Solutions. These sessions attracted over 2 400 people between them, with InfoComm experiencing an almost three-fold increase in its education traffic since 2013 after offering free session vouchers to every 2014 attendee.
“ISE 2014 was phenomenal in every respect,’ comments Wendy Griffiths, Executive Director, CEDIA Region 1. “This year’s event demonstrated outstanding international growth and CEDIA benefited hugely from this success. More CI companies became CEDIA members at the show than ever before, every CEDIA session in the new ISE Residential Solutions Theatre was jam-packed and CEDIA training courses available off the show floor were also well attended.’
This year’s ISE events programme included the all-new Investor Showcase and AudioForum, the third annual Smart Building Conference and an opening keynote address, “Kick-Starting the Market for Building Automation’, by Cisco’s Dr Dirk Schlesinger.
Mike Blackman, Managing Director, Integrated Systems Events, says: “Our big theme this year was content, and we believe we have delivered on our promise to enhance our event – and attract more attendees – by offering a combination of technical training, market intelligence, real-world case studies and networking opportunities that is unmatched by any comparable event in Europe.’
Smart Building Conference
ISE 2014’s pre-show events programme included the third edition of the Smart Building Conference, repeating the successful twin-track formula of the London 2013 Conference, allowing delegates to focus on either residential or commercial building, the Amsterdam event helped to make the Smart Building dream a reality by encouraging different industries to work together, integrating the various technologies that make buildings smart.
Taking place on the eve of ISE, the Smart Building Conference was the perfect opportunity for building technology manufacturers to raise brand awareness among the construction industry’s most forward-looking stakeholder groups.
Jim Sinopoli, founder of Smart Buildings, LLC comments: “This was really one of the best events I’ve been to on the topic. I have to believe such a conference will significantly grow as the market grows. Besides the outstanding speakers and panellists I had a chance to listen to, I also met several attendees that we communicated with after the conference. [Integrated Systems Events] did a very nice job in organising the event.’
Investor Showcase
Also taking place one day before ISE 2014 officially opened, 3 February, 14 companies from the consumer electronics and systems integration industry across four presentation tracks (Residential Solutions, Smart Buildings, Unified Communications and Digital Signage), presented in front of a panel of strategic and financial investors.
The investor jury panel, which included 360 Capital, Atlantic Bridge (AbVen), Beringea, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Prime Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Swisscom Ventures and Wellington Partners, were asked to evaluate each company presentation according to a number of criteria that were relevant to investors.
SoftKinetic was voted Most Promising Company by investors. LoopUp and Displax were voted Best Presentation of the Day and Most Innovative Company respectively. The Most Experienced Management Team category was won jointly by Automated Control Technology Partners and enModus.
