As the threat to international security continues to grow by the day, counter terrorism experts are not leaving the job of doing battle against terrorists to chance, nor to governments, nor are they taking the challenges lying low. No wonder, when they gathered last month at Olympia in London between the 19th and 20th of April, 2011, courtesy of the Counter Terror Expo 2011, they did not just stop at showcasing their innovations for commercial purposes, but devoted much time to deliberate on the various methods to be adopted in fighting against the desert monsters’ blood enterprise which they often do carry out in the name of religion.
So this year’s Counter Terror Expo once again recorded huge success in terms of exhibitor, delegate and visitor numbers. Held against a backdrop of greater instability and heightened tensions globally, this world-beating event saw the numbers swell to unprecedented proportion. Provisional figures indicate that some eight thousand people passed through the Grand & National Hall doors at London Olympia.
A real and present danger has emerged from instability across the Middle East and North Africa in recent months. The wind of change now sweeping across these regions prompted a moment of pause to take stock and has driven renewed impetus in addressing the challenges professionals within the counter-terrorism sphere face on a daily basis.
Continued and new challenges facing those tasked with addressing them, informed and directed the Counter Terror Expo conference programme.
Within the context of the centrepiece 'Global Counter Terrorism' conference, Muhammad Rafiuddlin Shah, Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF) and Director, CTITF Office, United Nations; Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Jean Dominique Nollet, Europol, Admiral the Right Honourable Lord West of Spithead GCB DSC ADC DUniv, Lindsay Clutterbuck, RAND Europe, and Patrick Mercer OBE, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Transatlantic and International Security, amongst many other renowned experts in the field, laid the issues bare and emphasised the challenges in addressing them.
Other principal conference streams honed in on specific issues faced in terms of Critical National Infrastructure, Protecting Crowded Spaces and Cyber Security & Electronic Terrorism. Two other conference events examined how to go about Designing-out Terrorism and best practice Emergency Services response to incidents.
“Counter Terror Expo's conference programme brought sharp focus to the challenges faced going forward, outlined in some considerable detail methods to address them and provided a forum for considerable on-site and on-going debate. We are indebted to the very many experts and analysts in the counter-terrorism sphere for their insightful contributions, which collectively make the Counter Terror Expo Conference programme a globally dominating event,” a spokesperson commented.
The conference programme was supported by one of the world's most extensive hardware and software exhibitions, which included interactive demonstrations and specialist workshop presentations covering the gamut of counter-terrorism activity.
Over four-hundred of the principal and leading global defence and security companies exhibited, thus emphasising that Counter Terror Expo remains a vitally important and key calendar event amongst professionals in the field.
As the world order changes, new threats and new challenges will inevitably emerge. Counter Terror Expo remains the only event of its kind to bring the global leaders in the field together to address these threats and challenges as they evolve.
FEEDBACK EDITORIAL QUOTES ON COUNTER TERROR EXPO 2011
“Counter Terror Expo clearly demonstrates the expansion in the protective security market place by the significance of the number of exhibitors in the sector. Whilst the event showcases a wide range of technology we all know that there is no one solution, hence the need for a multilayered approach of manpower technology and canine form all the important mix to deter terrorism. This year again has seen a well co-ordinated high profile event; particularly the meet the buyer programme has proven the ability of the organisers to deliver quality potential customers. ICTS Canine Search services and Conferences Sponsors have provided protective search capability for the event. The development of the use of canine in the Aviation sector is growing fast in the United Kingdom and global acceptance of the use of dogs is providing many new opportunities. The international market place has accepted the use of canine in security. “
-John S. E. Franklin-Webb, AMBII, MICM, AMIExpE, Head of Canine specialist Services, ICTS, UK Limited.
“Cybersecurity shows the evolution of security. At Thales we recognise that everything in cyberspace is under threat from attack. Stored data, networks and data transfer systems are all high risk targets and the results from attack can be devastating to both business and the individual.
In our specialist, and accredited, Cyber Centre we can recreate a network environment in order to carry out rigorous testing and analysis to establish the level of security risk and then develop solutions to overcome these threats.
And we are well established in this field. We work with the military, banks, critical national infrastructure...we deliver a wide range of services. People appear confused about what it is; hence we are going about educating people. We are therefore delighted to state that the Counter Terror Expo offers just a fine platform. Often some organisations don’t know what data they have. We now apply cyber security to things never previously applied. We are available to customers who do not know where to go to.”
- Dr Carolyne Meechan, Information Security Business Lead, National Security and Resilience, Thales UK.
"This is our first time to exhibit here. It has been very good so far.
We've had a lot of people come to our Stand who no doubt are the right
calibre of people to speak to. Nobody has made actual purchasing
commitment yet, but it is sure the right market place to be in.
Marshalls products are used by the local authorities, the police,
developers and they can also be used in sporting arenas such as the
stadia, etc. It may interest Vigilance to know that we are the Headline
Sponsor and Carrier Bag Sponsor for CTX."
_-James Skelton, Product Sector Manager, Marshalls
“We came because we heard about the huge success the Expo recorded last year and think we want to share in that success. It has been very busy, but no actual purchasing commitment yet. Amongst other products, we are showcasing Apollo which helps in crime detection and ACESO which was developed for evidence capture. It’s been worthwhile coming here, I must say. It’s a very, very prestigious event to attend and it requires a lot of money.”
-Andy Gill, CEO RADIOTACTICS
“We derive a great gain to be part of a big event like this. There have been a lot of people coming here to make one enquiry after another. The Expo is a unique market which offers excellent opportunities for our products. Objectivity has been involved in solving the most demanding data management challenges and these challenges are becoming more complicated than they hitherto were. It should be noted that software innovators today keep looking for industrial – strength products that allow them build systems to manage massive volumes of complex data. We are optimistic that the market will get bigger by the year. We have had a lot of leads, but these take time to mature. People come here to network and build relationship. We do get the normal UK people; we get a lot of international people here too.”
-Leon Guzenda, CTO, Objectivity, USA.
“I don’t think we shall be back here next year. The show is a bit too specialised for us. Too niche for us, although well organised, I’m not sure it is the right market for us. We are a software company with supply chain management such as warehouse management, Transport management, Freight management, etc. Out of the six areas in which we do business, the show fits into just one-Compliance. There have been quite a few enquiries, but I don’t know the exact number, 30 today, I suppose. Yes, it’s well organised, well planned, but I’m not sure it’s the right market for us.”
-Mark Brannan, General Manager, AEB
“I can tell you that so many have made enquiries about our products- electric perimeter fencing, car storage companies , firearms, electricity distribution and any form ...the show has a military base and people coming from the upmarket, this is the place for them since the exhibition focuses on counter terrorism. People are looking for quality here and they are getting it here. This definitely is one of the best organised shows and they have a high calibre visitors and this is what matters most, getting the right visitors. The Expo is very well organised and the organisers are very easy to work with. They are generally very helpful such as when I needed extra chair they did not waste time to bring it to me.
The exhibition is more Uk-based, so it is meeting the needs of local demands. This has been the only show to which we have committed our resources and also advertise in the Counter Terror magazine.”
-Martin Armstrong, Manager, Security, Engineering, IT and QC, Rutland Electronic Fencing (ZAREBA).
“Yesterday started very well and we really enjoyed the diverse visitors coming from all over the world, Brazil, Columbia, the US, etc. None gave us any purchasing commitment as to intending to buy our products/services at the moment, but I hope the long term effects will be of immense benefit to us. The Expo no doubt has been well organised with good communication channel/apparatus in place, including easy access to staff. Yes, we have done preliminary booking against next year. I can’t measure the success at this time, but it all depends on leads. It is hoped they will be better coffee next yea,r I suppose!”
-Mr Paul Baxter, Country Manager, UK and Ireland, Micro Systemation.
“We have been overwhelmed by visitors’ responses. Mainly they are categories of visitors from overseas, the Police, Fire , Ministry of Defence, Prison Service and fellow suppliers. We convert vehicles for the emergency services, both defence and civil, but military is limited. It is a very great show and we will definitely come back next year. The centre is so spacious, so allows many exhibitors. This is our first time. I wished the coffee were better. Compared with the cost of exhibiting here, the coffee is crap!”
-Marc Emery, Sales/Business Development Manager, S. MacNeillie and Son Limited.
“For us it has brought us into a different market completely. We invested to get to where we are today. This is the right market for us. We have booked to attend the next year’s already. Everything came as expected, we will come back. Good organisation, good coffee, nothing is wrong with the coffee. Next year we would like sandwiches and biscuits to come with coffee. I run a Charity in Africa, Africa-equip.org.”
-Brett Barratt, Managing Director, Sure Lock Doors
“It’s been fantastic! We have a guaranteed large number of leads and contacts, particularly with other companies. We shall definitely come back next year. We are a security technology solutions organisation. The organisation of the Expo has been first class, great organisers. We were well looked after by the organisers. Everything was at our beck and call. We were given all for which we requested, soon after the request had been put to the organisers.”
-Stephen White, Principal Project Engineer, BECATECH.
“It’s been quite successful, thus far. We’ve got many business leads. We are a communication partners with Axon Cable. We met the right calibre of customers. The event has been well organised and very focussed. We are into connectors and cables.”
-Miki Koitabashi, Manager Overseas Business Development Unit, Chubu Nihon Maruko International Group.