The participants of the 3rd Intersec Forum in Frankfurt am Main affirmed the Intersec Forum to be in the right place at the right time to tackle future-oriented topics. The conference for connected security technology ended on 23 March after welcoming 650 participants and generating a great echo from the industry and the building-services and security technology sectors. The participants (94%) were satisfied with the event and three quarters of them said they intend to visit the 4th Intersec Forum in March 2019. The 650 conference participants came from Germany and other European countries. Last year’s two-day Intersec Forum had attracted 180 specialists to Frankfurt.
“Intersec Forum 2018 has been accepted by the sector and we are pleased with this development”, said Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Messe Frankfurt, on the last day. “The demand from the building-services technology and the security technology sectors for an exchange of ideas and information, as well as collaboration on the development of ultra-modern solutions, has found its place at Intersec Forum.”
High degree of acceptance and high praise from the sector
This year’s Intersec Forum was characterised by a number of innovations. For the first time, the conference programme was extended from two to five days and, with 80 top international speakers, took place in the immediate vicinity of building automation and security technology exhibitors at Light + Building – The world’s leading trade fair for lighting and building services technology – in Hall 9.1. The speakers came from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel and the USA.
“As the national cyber security authority, we see the need for integration of effective information-security measures in the conceptual stages of building-digitalisation solutions. Cyber security is one of the main prerequisites for successful concepts for smart homes, smart buildings and, therefore, smart cities. For this segment, Intersec Forum offers a professional and future-oriented platform for the exchange of ideas and information”, said Arne Schönbohm, President of the German Federal Office for Information Security (Bundes¬amt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik – BSI).
From the perspective of the electrical-engineering industry, Michael Ziesemer, President of the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (Zentralverband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie e.V. – ZVEI), said, “The market quickly rose to meet the challenges posed by systematic security, and manufacturers already offer numerous marketable solutions for networking different technologies. This was reflected by Intersec Forum 2018. The conference is of interest to all concerned and market participants – from manufacturers, planners and users, to politicians and associations – and has become firmly established as the main knowledge platform for the future of networked security.”
Cyber experts and surveillance specialists on connectivity
The contributions by and discussions with top speakers covered the complete spectrum of technological networking in tomorrow’s buildings: from questions of standardisation, via specific solutions for the open integration of IP-based systems and the internet of things on technology platforms; from anticipating new security issues in buildings and the urban environment to a look into the future of sensory access-management models and the semantic web.
The speakers at the opening included BSI President Arne Schönbohm and prominent representatives of the industry, such as Dr Roland Busch, CTO and Member of the Board of Management of Siemens AG, Michael Ziesemer, President of the ZVEI, and Johannes Hauck, Director Corporate Business Environment of Hager, and Dr Klaus Mittelbach, Chairman of the ZVEI Management. The Cooperation Partner of Messe Frankfurt for Intersec Forum is the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association ZVEI).
Meet the makers at the exhibition stands
This year, Intersec Forum moved to the heart of the fair. The link between the conference programme and access to exhibiting companies was perfect – and, not insignificantly, fitted well in participants’ tightly packed trade-fair diaries. Some of the solutions discussed at Intersec Forum could be found in the immediate vicinity of the conference area, at the exhibition stands of exhibitors such as ABUS, Axis, Bosch Software Innovations, Frogblue, Hekatron, Honeywell Building Technologies, Siemens, Telefonbau Arthur Schwabe and Telenot.
The 4th Intersec Forum will be held at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre in March 2019, concurrently with ISH – The World’s Leading Trade Fair for The Bathroom Experience, Building Services, Energy, Air Conditioning Technology and Renewable Energies.