Intersec 2016 set to showcase the latest features in security

Dubai: The latest and most advanced features in security technology will be under one roof at the 18th edition of Intersec, with two new dedicated pavilions, one for Smart Home technology and the other for Physical and Perimeter security.

Intersec, which will run from January 17-19 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, is an international security and safety exhibition, which was recently recognised as the largest security and safety exhibition in the world.

Ahmad Pauwels, CEO of Intersec’s organiser Messe Frankfurt Middle East, said that there are 1,290 exhibitors this year from 55 countries this year, a 10 per cent increase from last year.

He said that trends such as the Internet of Things is having a significant impact on the regional security, safety and fire protection industries, where products and services are increasingly becoming interconnected and smart.

“This is especially true in Dubai — the home of Intersec for the last 17 years — where His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice- President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, recently issued a decree to establish the Dubai Smart City Office, a new government body facilitating Dubai’s efforts to transform itself into the smartest city in the world.”

With that in mind, he said they have introduced the new Smart Home section at Intersec 2016, as a starting point to showcase technologies that support smarter, safer, and more energy efficient buildings in Dubai, the UAE, and the wider Middle East.

Another new feature in the exhibition this year is a careers pavilion. “It is an experiment, we have seen this in other exhibitions internationally,” he said.

Niju Vijayan, from Frost and Sullivan, said that the UAE spends 1.1 per cent of its GDP on homeland security technology, adding that the homeland security market is expected to grow by 21.5 per cent in the UAE, which he said was higher than anywhere else.

Pauwels said that “at least 100 [companies] have officially confirmed new product launches, from the world’s first and only remote-controlled firefighting support machine, to smart home security systems using the latest building automation technologies.”

Intersec 2016 will span 50,000 square metres, and will have 14 country pavilions.

Other new additions this year at Intersec 2016 include a Safety Design in Buildings Pavilion in the Fire & Rescue section, along with a dedicated Jobs & Careers Pavilion, bringing thousands of professionals together with specialist security-related recruitment companies.