Infosec 2012: It was good, but was it the one?

Visitor numbers up as Roy Walker takes centre stage

The enduring popularity of Infosec, Europe's premier IT security show, is easy to explain: no matter what the economic climate, people need IT security.

According to provisional figures from the organisers, 7,000 punters descended on Earls Court on Tuesday, with a further 5,000 bursting through the gates on Wednesday - a rise on last year. Today seemed quieter, giving attendees a chance to reflect on two days of roaring trade.

Barrie Desmond, group marketing director at distributor Exclusive Networks, said: "My son said to me ‘you sell what people need, not what they want' - and that's a good way of putting it. We are in a good place, and this event amplifies that."

This view is backed up by figures unveiled today by analyst Gartner showing the global security software market bulged by 7.5 per cent in 2011 to $17.7bn (£10.9bn). And according to a joint Infosec/PwC study, a record one in seven large firms was hacked last year, ensuring IT security remains high up the CIO agenda.

It's good but it's not right

Although the male silverback contest between Symantec and McAfee was more low key this year, there was plenty of posturing to be found elsewhere.

Infosec 2012 may well be remembered best for the regular cries of "RIIIGGHHTT" emanating from the stand of encryption vendor SafeNet, who had secured the services of Catchphrase host Roy Walker (pictured). The northern Irish comedian's familiar phrases could be heard from outside the exhibition centre, such was the force of his delivery.

Elsewhere, a battle of the buses raged between security distributor Wick Hill and two-factor authentication vendor SecurEnvoy. ESET, Kaspersky and Trustwave/M86 were among those to shell out on big pitches and elaborate stands. Of the big names, only Juniper was missing.

The buzz

Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of Wick Hill, said the show was brimming with mid-enterprise and enterprise customers ready to shell out after a period of "pulling in their horns". The Wick Hill bus was making its first appearance since the show moved from Olympia in 2009.

"It has been a good show. Last year was like pulling teeth and we had to work much harder to pull in the crowd," he said.

Contrary to expectations, BYOD did not dominate the show, with Trend Micro one of the few major vendors to work the theme of mobility into its strapline: "smart security for the post-PC era". Mobile device management (MDM) vendor Good Technology was also there in force.

David Hobson, managing director of MTI-owned security VAR GSS (pictured), said that for a reseller, Infosec is more about pressing palms than uncovering hot technology.

"I am surprised at how little there is on BYOD," he said. "There are no products here that we haven't seen already. But Infosec is an effective use of our time. We are able to cram two months' work into two days."

GSS had a stand itself between 1999 and 2010. But with space at Infosec generally costing £1,000 a square metre once stand costs have been factored in, that investment is becoming increasingly tough to justify for a VAR, said Hobson. Pentura, Preventia and NTS were among the few resellers with stands at the show, the latter of which used a bar and four promo girls to pull in the visitors. NTS managing director Jonathan Lassman confirmed he would take double the space next year, such was the volume of footfall.

Kilpatrick said Wick Hill's most promising prospects had come in the areas of security information event management and secure storage, with vendors LogLogic and Imation.

Desmond said that with about half of all data thefts now of a sinister or organised nature, advance persistent threat (APT) was a hot button for customers visiting his stand.

"According to IDC, 71 per cent of CIOs are prioritising BYOD this year," he added. "Maybe the reason it's not more visible here is that MDM is only part of a solution. But it is certainly a growth area."