EXHIBITIONS EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Exhibitions can represent an incredible opportunity to network, identify products or services, learn from the experience of others or just to escape the bubble of inward-looking business. The Security and Counter Terror Expo, which takes place in London on 19th & 20th April 2016, is a good example. It is one of several security-related exhibitions, some of which are open to the public and others which are not. Opportunities for ideas everywhere Even with exhibitions it can be tempting to only look at those which are obviously in your specific sector. Stepping back and taking a broader view can reveal opportunities and ideas from the most unlikely of sources i.e. exhibitions in building and design, transport infrastructure, mobile communications or even the toy, robotics or UAV sectors. Bypass the gatekeepers Exhibitions are expensive to exhibit at, and this fact means that senior, knowledgeable people attend. They are therefore an excellent way to interact with people that it would normally take hours to identify and then only speak to once you have fought your way past legions of gatekeepers. They are also a highly cost-effective means of market and product research. Keeping an open mind is important in security, because whilst we operate within strict rules, boundaries, legal systems, barriers and constraints, our adversaries carry none of that baggage. Think outside the box.