5 Reasons Why US-Based Integrators Should Attend ISE

I went to ISE in Barcelona for the first time ever and I can’t believe what I’ve been missing. Having worked for a US-based integrator my entire career (almost 20 years), I didn’t think that this European-based show would be relevant since we have InfoComm in the US and other ProAV conferences, but I was WRONG! Allow me to highlight my top 5 reasons to encourage US-based integrators to attend ISE:

Reason #1 – Connecting with People

Aside from “it’s great to see people and reconnect”, interpersonal relationships are critical to business success. They are important in a business where “people buy from people” and thought leadership is shared not hoarded. These in-person opportunities to connect, reconnect, engage, and collaborate. Sure, they have no immediate ROI, but they have an indescribable V(value)OI.

Reason #2 – There ARE many Americans at ISE

For an American in the booth (stand, I have to remember to call it a stand) of an international organization like VuWall, I assumed my role would be more observational and less participatory but I was VERY wrong! I was impressed by the number of US-based integrators and attendees that see the value of ISE. I had such limited time to go out beyond my own stand and engage others during show hours and will learn from this next year and extend my time at the show.

Reason #3 – Access to Different Manufacturer Personnel

As far as value for US-based integrators, the manufacturer teams at ISE are different than InfoComm. InfoComm only gets a small subset of product development, engineering, and leadership representatives from most manufacturers – they are ALL at ISE and US integrators are missing out on key and strategic conversations by not being at ISE. For example, I had meetings with key procurement and CTO-level integrator reps who choose ISE because they can conduct their meetings and business with more anonymity and in a more comprehensive way than at InfoComm.

Reason #4 – More Vendors

There are SO many more vendors who exhibit at ISE than at InfoComm in a wider cross-section of the ProAV market. In Hall 5 alone I counted more than a dozen exhibitors who do work in the US but don’t exhibit at InfoComm.

Reason #5 – Command and Control!!!

Finally, speaking selfishly about my small subset of the ProAV community of command and control, this niche is alive and well and engaged internationally, but less so in the US – the diversity of manufacturers, integrators, consultants and end users is something we could learn from in the US (and I hope we do). They even have a Control Room Summit at ISE!

In Conclusion

There is INCREDIBLE value in attending ISE as a US-based integrator and I believe any integrator on the SCN Top 50 list (and/or aspiring to be on that list) should be at ISE! I do hope to see you all there in 2024.