Insights From More Than Two Decades of Attending ISC West

Daniel Budinoff, president of Security Specialists, Stamford, Conn., is almost a fixture at trade shows, especially ISC West. He attends some six to seven trade shows per year, but finds ISC West most applicable to his company, his product research needs and his networking endeavors. In fact, he has attended ISC West for more than 25 years, only missing perhaps one or two shows during that time period. With this year’s show just around the corner, April 10-12 in Las Vegas, it’s a great time to revisit the comments Budinoff made about the show several years ago.

Budinoff and his company are accomplished in the physical security business, networking and other specialties. He founded Security Specialists in 1978 and has been active and held many board positions – achieving a host of positions, credentials and certifications stemming from dedicated service to local and national alarm associations. These include the former National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, now the Electronic Security Association (ESA), as well as the Connecticut Alarm & System Integrators Association (CASIA) / formerly Connecticut Burglar and Fire Alarm Association, where he was president for two years, as well as founding president of the Westchester County Alarm Association, now known as RASIA. Budinoff is currently on the Board of Directors, Northeast Region, for PSA Security Network, Westminster, Colo.

Security Industry Awards:

Budinoff also holds two of the security industry’s most prestigious awards: the Sara E. Jackson Memorial Award (2004) and the Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year Award (2011). The Sara E. Jackson Memorial Award, which honors the memory of the 1950-51 ESA president, recognises an ESA volunteer who has exhibited exceptional leadership skills on an ESA committee, task force or board. The Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year Award acknowledges the outstanding achievement of a special individual and his or her continued efforts on behalf of ESA and the industry.

"We are seeing more end users at ISC West, but the focus is still on the dealer", says Daniel Budinoff, president of Security Specialists

Targeted at Security Dealers/Industry

“If I come away with just one or two new or upgraded products or services that I can generate new revenue from, I have accomplished my goal for attending. I usually am successful. And as far as justifying costs, I guess the old adage ‘you have to spend money to make money’ is pretty accurate in this scenario,” Budinoff states. Budinoff says he believes ISC West is the most comprehensive product show for the physical security industry.

“The show is beneficial because there are many items on the show floor that you don’t see in advertising or that end up in my ‘spam’ mailbox,” he says. “The true benefit is that it’s all here in one location.” He adds that he uses the show to discover new products that may make it into the portfolio of products and services offered by Security Specialists. But he also says that once he finds a potential product, he asks for followup after the show, because he rarely finds that doing a deep product dive at the show itself is successful.

Since attending ISC West almost continuously for many years, he’s been impressed with the show producer’s desire to improve the conference with better education, communication with attendees and educating vendors on how to maximise their return on investment.