As one of the fastest growing industries in South Africa today, the security sector has been propelled by the thousands of local security professionals who are eager to source the best home-grown and international products in a country where the public is heavily reliant on the services of the private security sector, say the organisers of IFSEC South Africa, UBM Montgomery.
“Equipping an organisation with proven security and safety solutions is simply the best way to protect customers, employees and assets,” says Ross Cullingworth, commercial events director at Montgomery Africa (a subsidiary of UBM Montgomery). “With the promise of some of the most innovative technologies from around the globe and the opportunity to network with a wide range of industry experts and security colleagues, many security professionals are turning to events such as IFSEC South Africa to keep abreast of the latest industry trends while sourcing the latest security systems.”
IFSEC South Africa welcomed a record number of visitors to its 2011 event. Some 6,214 delegates (a 6.4% increase on 2010) came to see more than 200 exhibitors. The co-location of a dedicated occupational safety and health expo, OSH EXPO Africa, further boosted total attendance numbers to 8,402 during the three-day event in September last year.
Encouraged by the growing numbers and with a view to developing the event, UBM Montgomery has invested in the show’s continued success and added a host of new features.
Homeland Security and Safety Africa will be a dedicated zone at IFSEC South Africa 2012, aimed at delegates representing various government departments in Africa. The Homeland Security Conference features a broad line-up of local and international industry speakers, including: former deputy commissioner in London’s Metropolitan Police – Tarique Ghaffur; special agent Willie Rattingher (FBI); international sniffer dogs and drug detection expert – John Greyvenstein; and piracy expert – Annelie Botha.
After its launch at last year’s event, IFSEC South Africa 2012 will once again be adding the SAIS Seminar Theatre to its list of educational seminars. The three-day programme includes topics such as: Mobile Device Forensics by Peter Fryer of Risk Diversion; Identity Theft by Francois Marais of JP Morgan; the latest CCTV and security industry trends, by Roy Alves of Axis and Markus Sattel of Intimus; Fire Detection and Suppression by Laura Swart from Red G; and Card Crime Trends by Daya Moodley from SABRIC.
“Although IFSEC South Africa was originally established to meet the needs of security professionals such as installers and integrators,” says Cullingworth, “we’ve noticed that IFSEC now attracts many consumers, end-users and executive decision-makers from various companies who are eager to learn more about the solutions available on the market today.”
He believes this is a positive trend and goes on to say that the more people educate themselves about the wide range security solutions available, the greater their understanding will be of the market. “Knowledge leads to empowerment and empowerment leads to better decision-making and purchasing,” he adds.
IFSEC South Africa includes leading industry names such as Elvey Security Technologies, Ideco, Hitek Security, Norbain and ADI Global Distribution.
IFSEC South Africa 2012 will once again be co-located with the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) EXPO Africa, which is also being run con-currently with the annual NOSHEBO Conference.
“We believe that IFSEC and OSH Expo Africa offers an impartial environment that will help visitors make informed decisions when selecting suppliers,” says Cullingworth. “When it comes to matters such as safety and security as well as occupational health and safety the importance of awareness, education and an open platform to select the best cannot be overemphasised,” he concluded.
IFSEC South Africa 2012 is taking place at the Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand, Johannesburg from the from 19-21 June 2012. For more details visit www.ifsecsa.com.