IFSEC International 2016 celebrates huge visitor numbers

IFSEC 2016 attracted 27,052 attendees, in line with the 2015 attendance

IFSEC International 2016, organised by UBM EMEA, has announced another hugely successful year for Europe’s largest security event, hosted from the 21st – 23rd June at ExCeL London.


Volume of visitors

IFSEC once again delivered an exceptional industry experience, attracting 27,052 attendees, in line with the 2015 attendance. The event saw a huge day one and two at IFSEC, with exhibitors overwhelmed with the sheer volume of quality visitors. Battling nature and politics on the third day, with the UK’s EU Referendum and severe flooding in London, the South West and Essex severing transport links to the venue, IFSEC still managed to deliver over 7,000 visitors to exhibitor stands on day three alone.

Key audiences on the IFSEC show floor saw growth this year, with an increase of the installer and integrator professions by 7% and significant international visitor participation at 34%, cementing IFSEC as the industry’s chosen global security exhibition. IFSEC also grew this year through crossovers from the co-located events, FIREX, Facilities Show, Safety & Health Expo, Service Management Expo and Professional Clothing Show, with a higher interest in security this year leading to an increase of show-floor visits.

Gerry Dunphy, Event Director for IFSEC & FIREX International, said: "IFSEC 2016 was another seismic experience for all concerned, a fantastic display of the very best in world class security products and solutions. The new areas this year such as Home Automation successfully showcased a whole new range of technologies available to security professionals and the Drone Zone was an absolute floor filler proving that IFSEC can always provide exciting spectacles for the visiting audience. We have already planned the main themes for 2017, so the security world should look out for further developments in home automation, smart commercial buildings, Borders & Infrastructure for senior specifiers of strategic security management and Installer World - a definitive destination for engineers and installers."

IFSEC International was very pleased to again welcome BSIA (British Security Industry Association) as a supporter of the event. James Kelly (Chief Executive), speaking on the event, stated “BSIA is proud to promote the importance of quality as a key consideration within the security industry. IFSEC provides both security buyers and industry colleagues with access to education and thought leadership.”

With security technology at the heart of the IFSEC community, this year saw the audience of more than 27,000 security buyers with over 20,000 different security solutions on offer at this year’s event. Key to the product offering were new launches across video surveillance, cyber, access control and integrated solutions, with new products revealed from Suprema, Canon, Avigilon and IDIS to name a few.

New areas of interest

For the first time a complete home environment was created within IFSEC in the form of a purpose-built, smart house, sponsored by Yale. This setting, delivered by the Control4 platform, demonstrated the very latest tech for fully automating the home for safety and security measures. There were examples on show from Merit Lilin, Nest, Invixium, 2N Communications and many others, all of which integrated with Control4’s network to demonstrate the fully automated functionality of Home Automation.

With an enhanced focus on this year’s Physical & Perimeter Protection area, IFSEC saw a growth to 22% of the audience attending to view products across perimeter protection, locking systems, safes and more. With increased security threats from terrorism, the need to protect businesses from external threats has never been greater, therefore this year’s success will develop into a fuller offering on the show floor as the event moves into 2017, with a new launch, IFSEC Borders & Infrastructure.

A further launch for 2016, the ARC Village, comprised of 13 exhibiting ARCs to meet the visiting installer needs. Within this first year, the attendance surpassed expectations, with over 2000 installers and integrators attending this area, designed to showcase the best in Alarm Receiving Centres, hosted in partnership with connectivity partner, CSL Dualcom.

The new Drone Zone created a buzz throughout the ExCeL as people visited to see how the security world can benefit from this innovative new offering, with demonstrations expertly piloted to showcase the opportunities of this new technology to the crowds. With new legislation still being drafted and research indicating the drone market will be worth $80 billion by 2025, this new tech area showcased a unique and exciting alternative to the security industry in the future.

Inspirational Speaker Series

The Inspirational Speaker Series continued to attract large crowds this year from across the security, safety, fire, facilities management and service management industries to the 400 capacity theatre each day. Speakers were again of a very high calibre with Colonel Tim Collins OBE, Kate Adie OBE and James Cracknell OBE, sharing key insights on how they have overcome adversity and challenges in their extraordinary careers in order to achieve their goals, from everyday tasks of getting children to school before work, to overcoming traumatic events to ensure a continual strive for progress. A further hugely successful security-centric seminar programme saw over 11,000 security professionals attend sessions from tactical training through to security leadership techniques, including the popular Tavcom Training Theatre.

IFSEC also continued to benefit from the co-located fire, facilities, security, service management and workwear and uniform events, which as a total saw over 45,000 visitors at the ExCeL over the three days, a 4% increase on 2015. Across the series, visitors were able to benefit from meeting their needs for fleet management, fire integration, health & safety legislation, uniforms and more.

IFSEC International 2017 takes place from 20th – 22nd June at ExCeL London.