With thousands of security professionals descending on Las Vegas for ISC West 2023, March 28-31, the annual conference and trade show promises to provide more than enough opportunities to network, see new products, and take in some top-notch education organized by the Security Industry Association (SIA), which is offering keynotes, training, and sessions over the course the week.
One of the new surprises this year is the emergence of The Lounge, which will be in Titian 2304 & 2305 rooms, providing daily roundtable discussions on the hour on a variety of access control and other security-related topics, as well as providing networking opportunities. Spearheaded by Lee Odess, CEO of Access Control Executive Brief, the Lounge has more than 500 preregistrations already, with many more expected by the time the show kicks off.
“Both Brian Karas (who helped organize this) and I are pretty pleased by the response,” said Odess, who is excited to have so many interested in and supporting the concept. “We’re looking forward to kicking this off and making this a yearly thing at ISC, and we're excited that we are doing roundtables at the beginning of every hour on a different topic moderated by a subject matter expert.” Dubbed, The Lounge Talks, attendees can take in stimulating discussions while catching up with industry peers.
The Lounge will offer daily coffee at 7:30 a.m.-9 a.m., as well as happy hours at 4 p.m.-5 p.m. in honor of Moms in Security and SIA RISE. The Lounge sponsors already include Digital Barriers, FieldHub Inc, HID, Torus, Kwikset, Moms in Security Global Outreach, SIA RISE, PSA Security Network, Brivo, Active Witness, Soloinsight (CloudGate Platform), SS&Si Dealer Network, Orion Entrance Control, Inc., VOLT AI, sesamsec GmbH, Geokey, Chamberlain Group, Wicket, IMRON Corporation, and Access Control Executive Brief.
SIA Committee Chair of the Year
This will be an exciting and busy ISC for Odess, as he is also being honored as the recipient of the SIA Committee Chair of the Year Award, which recognizes individuals for excellence in leading SIA committees and advancing member objectives. SIA will present Odess with the award at The Advance, SIA’s annual membership meeting, which will be held March 28 during ISC West.
In 2022, Odess was instrumental in launching SIA’s Proptech Advisory Board – designed to foster engagement between the proptech community and the global security industry through partnerships, education and thought leadership – and serves as the group’s chair.
“Being recognized as SIA’s Committee Chair of the Year is an honor. I accept it on behalf of the 80 individuals, their companies and Edison Shen, who have worked tirelessly to get the Proptech Advisory Board off the ground and rolling. We have only gotten started,” said Odess. “I also want to recognize Don Erickson, the SIA Board of Directors, John Mack and Steve Van Till for supporting the effort from idea to execution. It shows SIA’s vision, high level of curiosity and leadership. Thank you all for the trust and opportunity. I do not take it lightly, and it is a great honor. Thank you.”
Under Odess’ leadership, the SIA Proptech Advisory Board has held a variety of in-person and virtual meetings since its launch in 2022. Additionally, Odess has authored and collaborated on several proptech-related articles for SIA, helped produce a series of practitioner conversations with influential leaders in commercial real estate and led the efforts around SIA’s Proptech Report, a highly regarded resource produced in partnership with CREtech that evaluates proptech trends, market size and buying interests affiliated with security solutions in commercial real estate, including office environments and multifamily housing. Additionally, he assisted in kickstarting the Proptech Advisory Board Speaker Series and in developing the “Definition of Proptech” video. He is a thought leader on proptech and has spoken at major SIA and industry events, including ISC West and AcceleRISE.
The Heart of the Matter
In addition to being honored and presiding over The Lounge, Lee is also moderating a session on Wednesday, March 29, 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m., as part of SIA’s extensive education program, looking at “How Matter Will Impact Security Standards.” And “it won’t just be for the smart home,” said Odess, who points out in the session description that Matter is the new connectivity standard embraced by the likes of Google, Apple and Samsung. “Subsequently, the new protocols for set-up, interoperability, and more standards will spark significant changes to the smart home, connected buildings, IoT, and security industries,” he added.
In this session he will dig into how Matter-certified interoperable devices will impact security standards for all the devices we introduce into the spaces we live, work, and play, as well as address concerns or additional shifts are on the horizon that security professionals need to be aware of.
