From the IFSEC 2015 London, UK, Events Team:

The Benchmark Innovation Arena

During and after last year?s show we asked you how we could improve IFSEC International to make it better meet your needs.

One word above all summed up your response: innovation.

Presentations, networking, and finding suppliers or distributors are all still important to you, but in this industry seeing the technology up close, testing it out for yourself – this is what our audience told us they want more than anything from the experience.

And not just technology per se but the most cutting-edge, genuinely innovative tech around. We?re talking tech that makes your job as an installer easier or more profitable; or as an end user, that keeps your employees safer in a more cost-effective way.

With this in mind we?ve introduced the Benchmark Innovation Arena for IFSEC?s 2015 edition. Throughout the three-day show ? 16-18 June ? the innovation arena will feature product demonstrations from the 44 contenders for Benchmark Magazine?s innovation awards. Check out the full timetable here.

From video surveillance hardware to access control software the awards will cover a wide spectrum of security tech, with the winners being announced by Benchmark Magazine after the show.

The event also marks the return of the Innovation Trail. Assessing applicants for genuine originality —do they solve an old problem in a novel way or a hitherto intractable challenge?— a panel of independent experts sifted through dozens of submissions from exhibitors to spotlight the most pioneering products around the exhibition halls. Watch out for the gold Innovation Trail balloons on selected stands!

Keynote speakers
Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Chris Hoy and Baroness Karen Brady are headlining the bill at this year?s show.

Though changing technology and business practices necessitate that trade shows must evolve, the motivations for attending remain broadly the same: networking with fellow professionals and prospective customers or suppliers, learning how to get an edge in your trade from live presentations and live product demonstrations.

However, the experience should be more than simply a hard-headed, utilitarian exercise. We decided to add some glamour to the occasion ? and no little inspiration ? by inviting three of the most inspirational figures on the speaking circuit.

They might arrive at the Protection & Management Series —the umbrella event that co-locates IFSEC and FIREX with the Safety and Health Expo, Facilities Show, Service Management Expo and Interop— with little direct experience of the fire or security industries, but our three renowned keynotes bring some fascinating stories and insights from other pursuits that nevertheless may provide no little inspiration as well as entertainment.

There?s a certain irony, for example, in Sir Ranulph Fiennes – an ex-smoker who endured a heart bypass and an intrepid eprid exporer lost fingers through frostbite on his madcap exploits ? speaking about Extreme Health and Safety? for our sister event, Safety and Health Expo. It should be fascinating!

?Smart Cities: Safer & Secure? conference
Hosted by Euralarm ?Smart Cities: Safer & Secure? is a half-day conference taking place on 17 June, day two of the event.

The conference, which features a formidable line-up of speakers from both the private security industry and civic authorities, will explore how those bearing responsibility for protecting key assets and infrastructure can make urban environments smarter, safer and more secure.

A key part of the Safe Cities Academy, which will be bigger and better than last year?s edition in recognition of a changing risk landscape, the conference will examine the impact of smart, IP-connected technologies on an industry that is beginning to move beyond thinking in silos.

Euralarm, a pan-European association of manufacturers and installers of fire and security systems, recently ran a webinar to give the IFSEC Global audience a foretaste of what to expect on the day. You can still download a recording of the webinar here.