Integrated Systems Europe Recap 2023
BY PATRICK WHIPKEY
VICE PRESIDENT OF EDGE
Integrated Systems Europe Recap 2023
How do you sum up three days in Barcelona? There were over 58,000 attendees, seven halls with over 1000 vendors, 51,692 steps in three days, 23.6 miles walked, 25 meetings, 117 attendees at the Edge and SAVe reception and endless relationships both old and new. Are big tradeshows back? ISE 2023 answered with a loud YES.
Reception
This was a first for Edge hosting a reception for our international partners, and it was a huge success. We had over 117 people in the booth, and it was busy from start to finish. Germany, Ireland, Latin America, Singapore, India and Romania were in attendance. The overall vibe was excitement of finally being together after three long years. I spoke with everyone about how their individual business are doing and they all had the same response…business is good. Everyone was appreciative of the networking opportunities at the reception and asked for more integrators to join the network. It’s hard to describe how important it is for face-to-face interaction. Interacting with Edge members in person, that we have worked with for the past three years was truly an incredible and heart-warming experience.
SAVe
Edge partnered with SAVe for a happy hour reception at the SAVe booth, which allowed our two organizations to build a stronger relationship. Sustainability is HUGE overseas, and they generated a lot of interest and traffic for the SAVe organization and Edge. They made over 200 contacts at the three-day event and will be sharing the list to help build the Edge International Partner Program.
ConsorcioTec Reception
On Tuesday evening, I had the pleasure of attending the ConsorcioTec bowling night reception. Max Jaramillo, Chief Integrator Advocate at ConsorcioTec, had over 120 people in attendance. From integrators to distributors, it was awesome to connect with so many people. It’s amazing when you consider the vast number of connections you can make at a conference like ISE.
Other Discussions
Attending events like ISE always leads to run-ins on the show floor and non-scheduled discussions (sometimes they are the best part of these events). SDVOE Alliance, Commercial Integrator, Rave, AVXIA and many others I made connections with were truly remarkable. I believe the run-ins are serendipitous, and I appreciate catching up with an old friend.
What’s Next
In 2018, ISE started to gain a lot of American attention, and in 2019 it was a big draw for American attendance. Obviously the last three years saw a decline in larger shows and overseas travel. Walking into the show this year I didn’t know what to expect. I was blown away with the record-breaking number of attendees. This show will continue to grow and can be THE show in the future.
Conclusion
ISE is a special place; it’s hard to describe the whole event in a nutshell. Three years ago, Edge set out to build an international network, and then the pandemic hit. We were worried about the future of the international program, but we ended up with a growing group of collaborating professionals, who helped the group flourish. Friends from around the world gathered to meet in-person after three long years. From the travel to the people, down to the food; the atmosphere was truly an event that you need to be a part of. Is it exhausting? YES. But is it worth it? 100%.