Intersec 2017 review: SIRA, the Drone Zone and more

As the Middle East security industry’s most important trade show closes for another year, Security News Desk brings together some of the latest news and views from Intersec 2017, including the launch of Middle East regulatory body, SIRA, some news from the Drone Zone, and some of the most significant launches. 

Intersec is a show I’ve enjoyed attending for the last 15 years and it never disappoints. Having travelled to shows around the world in a career spanning over 20 years I’ve got a sixth sense for measuring a successful show and Intersec sets the bar year on year.

This year’s edition was bigger, more refined and once again managed by a team that have genuinely got the exhibitor and delegate experience firmly in mind.

There’s always something new to see at Intersec and this, the 19th edition, saw the introduction of the Drone Zone, a fast developing area that security practitioners around the world are busy understanding, from a ‘how to perspective’ and also, of course from a regulatory perspective.

A record-breaking year was how Intersec organisers, Messe Frankfurt Middle East described the show. Indeed, the event attracted 33,501 visitors from 129 countries and 1,304 exhibitors across the 56,300sqm exhibition space at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

So, it continues to grow and this year saw the British and German villages moved into a larger hall. This was always going to cause some dissenters but in real terms proved to be a success for those I spoke with during the show itself. The last time exhibitors were moved around (which was a few years ago) it was the same but, as was proved this year, the organisers made a good call.

Once again it was a joy to see and meet those that really make a difference in the security market, believe me life isn’t short of philodox characters – it’s about making sense of the opinion and Intersec is a great place to do that – it certainly sorts out the wheat from the chaff. Some of the best advice in the world is available across the stands in each and every hall and it’s proffered by those that have practice not just theory within their skill set.

So on to the show itself, which was opened on 21 January by H.H. Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He commented: “The UAE is committed to using the latest in security technologies to ensure the safety and welfare of all its residents and visitors.

“As the foremost international trade fair for the security industry, Intersec provides an important platform for engagement and interaction with leading international experts and plays a key role in enhancing the safety and security of the region.”

Messe Frankfurt Middle East CEO Ahmed Pauwels (pictured left) gave his view on why this year’s show had been so significant: “First, there were at least 150 confirmed product launches at the show, things such as SkyDroner, a remote controlled drone detection and disabling technology, and the world’s first 3D printed metal key, just a couple of examples of new products coming to market. This emphasises Intersec’s position and reputation as focal point for global technologies seen for the first time, not just in the Middle East, but the world. When integrators, consultants, and end-users alike want to see the latest innovations from the world’s leading security solutions providers, they know they’ll find them at Intersec.”

According to Pauwels, 2017 also saw significant involvement from the supporting Dubai Government partners, namely the Dubai Civil Defence, which in addition to announcing the updated fire codes, also announced several other key initiatives, including a floating fire station, and a new consumer mobile app to report fires or other incidents across the Emirate. Not to mention the official launch of SIRA, which is set to have a major impact across the UAE.

SIRA
On that note, the launch of the regulatory body Security Industry Regulatory Authority, SIRA, was undoubtedly one of the most significant events at the show, not to mention one of the most important developments in security for the UAE region.

It has a wider remit than the Dubai Police Department (DPS) regulatory body it replaces, and is tasked with organising and funding research and studies to progress the Security Industry in Dubai. It will also organise and participate in conferences, seminars etc. both locally and internationally to ensure Dubai is at the centre of any new developments.

SIRA Director General, Brigadier Khalifa Ibrahim Saleis commented: “It will, of course, continue all the licensing and regulatory functions held by DPS but will broaden its work further into development, research, more active monitoring of Security Services providers and setting new general policies in the Security Industry across Dubai.”

On why it was decided that SIRA would be launched at Intersec 2017, Brigadier Saleis added: “This is the largest gathering of Security professionals across the GCC and Middle East region. It makes perfect sense to use this opportunity to explain the changes being made to showcase the new expanded role of SIRA and to allow industry professionals to ask questions directly of SIRA representatives.”

Added Brigadier Saleis: “It will set down the specifications and standards which must be followed, and have the ability to update these as required, without the need to pass fresh legislation on each occasion that a revision is required. It will also provide the regulatory framework for training related to security services at all levels.”

Launches
Other significant launches came from Singapore-based Teleradio, with its SkyDroner, as well as Visual Management Systems, Maxxess, Promise Technology, IDIS, Silent Sentinel, Nocturna and IDL.

Firstly, SkyDroner is a piece of kit which detects, distracts, and disables unauthorised drones in restricted airspace surrounding airports, military bases, or other critical infrastructure.

TeleRadio Regional Sales Director Jason Quek, commented: “SkyDroner identifies unauthorised drones and ultimately overwrites commands forcing them to land when they breach invisible security barriers. First it performs continuous monitoring of drone frequencies within a protected area. Upon detection of any drone radio frequency signature, it generates an alarm and pinpoints the drone’s location and its operator.

“SkyDroner then identifies the type of drone and decides the action to carry out. Based on the make and model, it will issue different commands to the respective drone, including ‘return to operator’, ‘land at designated location’ or ‘freeze the video transmission’. Finally it can discontinue all communication link between the drone and its operator forcing the drone to land.”

We visited Visual Management Systems Ltd stand, where the company launched a whole suite of new products, including TITAN VIEW, a licence-free IP Video Management System, Command and Control solution, TITAN SIGMA, as well as PSIM solution TITAN VISION and an integration and control system for the full range of 360 Vision Cameras.

Maxxess unveiled MAXDashboard DI – an intuitive dashboard it described as a ‘world-first solution’ which uses customised data filters to display precise tailored information, in granular detail.

According to Maxxess, multiple live data inputs, including access control, are uniquely combined with big data analytics and the results cross-referenced with a wide range of behaviour patterns – general and individual. Anomalies are identified to trigger alerts about potentially suspicious or unauthorised activity. This makes it easy for in-house security teams to proactively verify questions like: How many cardholders are present on your sites? What is the split of employees, contractors, guests or others? With self-learning algorithms, the rules are continuously refined, helping to minimise risk.

The technology can also easily be bolted on to any security system, and it can be made available as a pay-as-you-go service, so can be up, running and delivering results fast, with no upfront costs or technical barriers.

Promise Technology debuted several new solutions, including Auryn, a high-capacity surveillance storage block, the Vess A6120 server line and the Vess A3340d network video recorder (NVR).

Another key highlight of the Promise display was the company’s impressive partner ecosystem as Allied Telesis, Axis, AxxonSoft, Bosch, C-Link, Digifort, Hanhwa Techwin, Intelligent Security Systems (ISS), Ipsotek, IronYun, Milestone, NEC, Securitas, SeeTec, Toshiba and Trassir all joined Promise at the company’s booth.

IDIS celebrated its 20th anniversary and unveiled some brand new innovative software and products including IDIS Solution Suite, an open architecture and enterprise-level VMS, that offers a highly responsive and cost-effective modular design and comes with free software and firmware updates.

Also on show was a 64-channel NVR, the DR-8364D, featuring Full HD real-time recording, RAID 1/5/10, dual power, total throughput of 900Mbps and failover redundancy. Plus, IDIS showed its IDIS ANPR, which features true plug-and-play technology to deliver ‘ground breaking’ accuracy, a true multi-lane field of view and superior image quality combined with sample and fast deployment.

Other products from the manufacturer included IDIS VA in the Box video analytics, IDIS Intelligent Codec, and IDIS Super 4K Total Solution – a high-performance mix of 4k NVRs, cameras and monitors and support for H.265 to deliver sharper and more accurate surveillance for powerful image analysis.

Silent Sentinel Business Development Director, Issa Manneh said this year’s show was the best one yet for the company. It showcased its Drone Jammer and Aeron Thermal Zoom, and said that while it was great to show off its new products, it was also great to see what others had to offer.

Added Manneh: “All members of the Silent Sentinel team said it was great to see some of our e
xisting clients and also meet some hopefully soon-to-be clients. We got some great leads from the show and hope we can develop those into orders making 2017 one of Silent Sentinel’s best years yet!”

Nocturna Ltd also had a successful Intersec, showcasing its latest hand held night vision gadget. Jake Horwell, International Sales Manager, commented. “We noticed that a lot of people have moved away from hand held stuff, and towards CCTV, believing that that is where the industry is moving. We’re really entering the affordable, hand-held, easy-to-use night vision market, which is completely untapped, and we’re finding this very popular already.”

Last, but by no means least, on the product front, IDS had its new Glassgate 300 turnstile on display. Tony Smith, Major Accounts and Marketing Manager at Integrated Design Limited (IDL) said: “It’s had a lot of positive comments. It’s a very light small looking pedestal with six foot high glass and solid locking brakes, so it’s almost impenetrable, and of course it has the same electronics and reliability as the rest of the products have.”

Meanwhile, Milestone Systems showcased some of its latest open platform technology and the company introduced its new Systems Sales Director, DACH, Middle East & Africa, Christian Ringler. Visitors also had the chance to preview XProtect 2017 R1 VMS system, which is out now.

Ringler said that its busy stand indicated the Middle East and Africa’s (MEA) accelerating preference for a community-driven market approach with open platform technology.

Finally, we got some words from a number of exhibitors, who told us about their experiences at the show.

Dan Drayton, International Sales Manager at Paxton commented: “The show has been really good. We’ve had lots of good quality people onto the stand. This is the first time we at Paxton have done the show on our own, rather than being part of the UK Pavillion. I think it has given us a bit more gravitas in the region. We had a nice spot too, next to some other well-known brands so we’ve had a lot of good quality visits.”

For Ahmed Ouf, GCC Sales Manager at NEC the show has been better than expected. “We didn’t expect so much traffic because of what’s going on in the Gulf with oil prices and the reduction in budget. Because we were situated in a bit of a remote location, and because we just decided to participate last minute, we worried that people wouldn’t visit the stand, but fortunately it’s been good. We are definitely going to be here next year.”

In conclusion, those 150 product launches demonstrate that if you’re looking for cutting edge or tried and tested solutions across Fire, Safety, Healthcare and Security then Intersec is a must attend show.

The 20th edition is one for the diary now; 21 January 2018 through till 23 January 2018 and for those of you that just can’t wait until then you may want to consider the inaugural Intersec event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 2 – 4 May. Security Media is once again the Official News Partner and we’re doing all we can to support the launch to the wider market by getting your commercial news out to our website and newspaper subscribers and visitors. If you have something to say then please do email it through to PR@SecurityNewsDesk.com.

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