Kami Dukes

Products are the building blocks of the security industry. Historically much of the industry’s sales effort has been focused on highlighting product features and functionality. At the end of the day, however, an end user is less interested in the performance of any individual system component than in the system as a whole. Lately, the industry has embraced a changing sales approach by emphasising systems rather than products. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the benefits of a transition from selling security products to selling security solutions?

AMAG Technology hosted its annual Security Engineering Symposium in Miami, Florida, February 15-18, 2019 at the Trump National Doral Miami. Eighty end users, consultants and integrators were in attendance. Guests were treated to two days of interactive presentations with thought leaders in compliance, AI, edge technology, insider threat, and open technologies and were taught how to apply what it means to them to understand how to utilise the right solutions to mitigate risks, ensure compliance and save money. AMAG Technology President, Kurt Takahashi and Director of Business Development, Kami Dukes opened the conference by welcoming attendees and introducing honoured guests and AMAG staff. Chief Operating Officer, Howard Johnson and Vice President of Products and Partner Programs, Jason Schimpf presented Your Voice, Our Vision, and discussed AMAG’s vision for the future which is based on customer feedback and the technology innovation needed to meet today’s threats. Discussing security trends Our goal this year was to change and improve the format to provide digestible, useable content that was valuable to our attendees"A Platinum panel based on the theme, Achieve More Together, discussed security trends, customer needs and how best to move forward together to be successful. Two TED style talks featured Open Ideas with Dukes and Senior Director of Global Sales, Justin Wilmas and People Within with Business Development Manager, Dan Bissmeyer. “Our goal this year was to change and improve the format to provide digestible, useable content that was valuable to our attendees, and I believe we met that goal,” said Dukes. “Our diverse audience inspired impactful discussions surrounding topics that affect vertical markets dealing with compliance challenges, and I am proud to announce that together we raised nearly $9,500.00 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.” Integrating access control with video “AMAG hosted a first-class event that provided the opportunity to network with AMAG, as well as many end users and vendors," said Salt Lake City Police Department Captain, Scott Teerlink. "The format allowed for much discussion not only about the Symmetry solution, but with how to better integrate access control with video, audio, and other innovative solutions to improve our site security while simplifying and reducing time needed to complete the critical tasks necessary to ensure our facilities are secure. “I left with a better understanding about AMAG, the Symmetry solution and what's new in the security industry. Most importantly, I met outstanding people that will be a tremendous asset as we work to adapt and evolve our systems to best meet our changing environment and needs." Building relationships with security professionals The Security Engineering Symposium provided a wonderful opportunity to network and build relationships with fellow security professionals"Ten certified technology partners worked together to deliver theme-based presentations to attendees. Platinum Level sponsors, ASSA ABLOY and Vingtor Stentofon presented Living on the Edge. Gold level sponsors Axis Communications and Salient Systems presented Take Tech to the Biz. Gold sponsors LifeSafety Power and Winsted presented Automation & Compliance. Silver sponsors shared a breakout session and included Idemia, IRIS ID, LiveSafe and Wavelynx. "The Security Engineering Symposium provided a wonderful opportunity to network and build relationships with fellow security professionals," said Jorge Gomez PE, RCDD, Managing Member/Project Engineer, J&A Engineering Consultants. "The event revitalized me and renewed my excitement about the security industry." During the closing banquet, a representative from St. Jude’s Research Hospital presented about the mission and advances St. Jude’s is making in paediatric cancer research. Our generous SES19 sponsors and attendees together raised $4,728.00, which was matched by AMAG for a record setting total of $9,456.00! “We are so thankful to our integrators, consultants, partners and end users for their generosity, and are thrilled to donate such a large sum to St. Jude,” said Dukes.

AMAG Technology hosted its annual Security Engineering Symposium in Newport Beach, California, February 23-26, 2018 at the Balboa Bay Resort. Nearly 70 end users, integrators and consultants attended the highly interactive networking event. Threat Analysis AMAG Technology President, Kurt Takahashi and Vice President-Global Sales and Business Development, Jody Ross kicked off the conference with opening remarks and introductions of honored guests and AMAG staff. Chief Operating Officer, Howard Johnson presented Threat Analysis Through Machine Learning, and updated attendees on AMAG’s product roadmap and vision for the future. Breakout sessions educated attendees about Symmetry GUEST Visitor Management, Symmetry CONNECT Identity Management, the Symmetry Solution and RISK360 Incident management. Keynote speaker, Michael Gelles, managing director and security expert, Deloitte, LLP, presented Challenges to Building an Insider Threat Program where he outlined the program pillars to prevent, detect and respond, and how creating a program is a team sport. Every year I am amazed at the collaboration and networking that occurs at the Security Engineering Symposium" Security Energy Symposium “Every year I am amazed at the collaboration and networking that occurs at the Security Engineering Symposium and this year it was fantastic to see end users, integrators and consultants sharing ideas and interacting with the technology partners to learn about the latest technologies,” said AMAG Technology, Director of Business Development, Kami Dukes. “We had a record number of technology partners attend, which speaks for itself. The cutting-edge technologies demonstrated were on target with the trends we are seeing in the industry. Seeing those technologies close up and having the opportunity to ask questions was invaluable.” “This is my first SES and I was very impressed with the setup,” said Craig Vollman, a computer expert who works for a large health care insurance company. “As an end user, I especially enjoyed the break-out sessions being paired with integrators, manufacturers and consultants. It was a great experience to hear everybody’s perspective on deployment strategies and to learn about the new software and technologies being developed and implemented.” Seventeen certified technology partners demonstrated their products and solutions throughout the weekend Multiple technology partners Seventeen certified technology partners demonstrated their products and solutions throughout the weekend. Platinum and Gold level sponsors presented small breakout sessions. Silver sponsors shared a breakout session and associate sponsors setup booths. The impressive list of sponsors includes: ASSA ABLOY, Zenitel, Arrow, FST Biometrics with Gunnebo, HID Global, Hoverfly, NEC, Winsted, Flir, Idemia, SMI, Ticto, Arecont Vision, Barco, Life Safety Power and Wavelynx. “This is the first time I’ve participated in an event where you have so much interaction with the guests,” said Ticto Chief Marketing Officer, Bart Vansevenant. “The formula of combining end users, integrators, consultants and AMAG Technology partners is so powerful, and when combined with the small interactive breakout sessions, it is just wonderful.” The SES brings everyone to the same forum and creates an open dialog where the end users get to voice what they want to do in their business" End-users and integrators “The SES brings everyone to the same forum and creates an open dialog where the end users get to voice what they want to do in their business. The integrator exposes himself to what the consultants can bring to the table, and the consultants can see what the integrators are capable of,” said Automation Integrated, Director of Engineering, Ron Free. “It’s a great gathering of the minds that provides input and guidance for attendees to take back to their companies and make decisions about the direction they want to go in the market.” During the closing banquet, a representative from St. Jude’s Research Hospital presented about the mission and advances St. Jude’s is making in pediatric cancer research. Thanks to the generosity of the attendees and AMAG’s matching program, over $2000.00 was raised to support St. Jude’s. “I couldn’t be prouder,” said Dukes.