With the Eskenzi PR team facilitating over 96 press and analyst briefings, hosting our very own press lunch and European Bloggers’ Awards (that was attended by over 150 visitors) we did manage to get around the exhibition floor and attend various events. Here is just a quick collection of the team’s key highlights from show:
Yvonne Eskenzi, Co-Founder – Eskenzi PR:
“This was my 24th Infosec and boy did I feel it as I did around 15,000 steps a day. What I did realise as I walked around the show was that I’m incredibly blessed to be working in cybersecurity because the people are just the loveliest in this industry, truly collaborative, decent and fair. This was evident in the Best Practices Marketing Swapping Session that we did before the show. Although there were competitors in the room the CMOs all shared their insights amongst one another so that colleagues didn’t throw good money after bad. Everyone quickly found out they had the same pain points and it was good to share intelligence, network and make professional friends. The show is not only a great place to meet old buddies and colleagues but every one of our clients waxed lyrical about how successful it was from a lead generation perspective and it did make me think those that weren’t exhibiting missed a very big opportunity. In my opinion 2019 was one of the best!”
Neil Stinchcombe, Director – Eskenzi PR:
“As I walked around the show floor of my twenty-fourth Infosec, I was delighted to meet so many friends including CISOs, CTOs, CEOs, journalists, bloggers and industry analysts, and most of them were also at our press lunch and party. One of the highlights was having lunch with a new client that just become a Unicorn, not a mythical creature in fancy dress, a CEO who has just raised hundreds of millions in funding which valued their company at over one billion dollars. But the show is not just about money. In another conversation I discussed the skills gap with a CISO of a new bank (another unicorn business) that has recruited every appropriate security professional in the country where their development team is based and now has had to open other offices to find the people they need to secure the growth of their organisation. As security has now become so intrinsic to the future of agile new businesses, the skills gap challenge has driven the investment in new technology, especially in the growing area of dev opps and sec opps, so it was not surprising to see so many vendors with new offerings to meet this need. I love working in this industry because every day brings a new challenge and a new way to deal with it, so roll on Infosec 2020.”
Melanie Johnson, Account Director – Eskenzi PR:
“For me, the highlight of the show was sitting through Professor Sue Black OBE’s talk at Infosecurity Magazine’s Women in CyberSecurity networking breakfast event with over 300 other women from the industry. Sue was just so inspiring talking about what she had to overcome, how she saved Bletchley Park, starting a career in the harshest of times, driving gender equality in tech and receiving an OBE, what a woman!”
Beth Smith, Account Director – Eskenzi PR:
“I love how the infosec community grows and changes each year, but still has that familiar feeling. It’s hard to go even a few minutes without bumping into acquaintances, old or new, for a quick smile and a wave or a more drawn out ‘the-past-year-in-sixty-seconds’ type conversation. Or of course, getting in a queue for a graffitied water bottle for thirty minutes for a much longer catch up with Thom Langford, who filled me in on his recent freelancing adventures, including a part-time gig at Comic Relief. And, in keeping with the human side of what makes Infosecurity a great event, seeing Jenny Radcliffe chuffed to bits with her win at the European Cybersecurity Blogger’s Awards for Best Cybersecurity Vlog was also a big highlight of the week!”
Sam Hearne, Senior Account Executive – Eskenzi PR:
“This was my first time at Infosec and I had such a great time. As a newbie in the cybersecurity industry, the best part for me was meeting everybody! We work with spokespeople and journalists on a daily basis, so it was great to be able to put faces to names. I’ve walked the floors of many trade shows before, but none have been quite like InfoSec. Wandering around the show and meeting all the vendors and visitors alike, you can really feel the passion and pride that keeps the industry thriving. It was amazing to speak to so many people that unashamedly love what they do.”
Rohit Chavda, Junior Account Manager – Eskenzi PR:
“Every year, the vendor stands get more creative and the swag gets better. The reason: to attract the punters to their little real-estate on the infosecurity strip. Vendors can sometimes spend six figure sums on the design of a booth. This itself is a competition amongst the vendors as it’s an opportunity to make a positive statement regarding the company. In terms of free swag, marketing teams are forever searching for items to give away to visitors. Cable ties, screen cloths and beer coolers are so 2016. For me, nCipher Security had the best giveaway – customised graffiti water bottles. Once word got out about this creative and never before seen freebie, the queues at their booth stretched as far as the eye could see. They caused such a stir that the poor artists had to stay late to keep up with the demand. Well done nCipher…props to you for bringing the swag.”
Lucy Harvey, Account Director – Eskenzi PR:
“It was my tenth Infosec this year and I always really enjoy attending the show as it’s a great opportunity to hear about what’s going on in the security industry and to catch up with acquaintances. This year I was amazed at how many new vendors were at Infosec and it really highlights just how big our industry is becoming. When speaking to a few of the companies, many were actually start-ups but they were thriving and seeing huge success and growth. This shows the growing importance of cybersecurity and the demand from organisations, governments and consumers for effective security solutions to protect them from online threats. The industry is clearly booming and I’m very proud to be a part of it.”
Conor Heslin, Junior Account Manager – Eskenzi PR:
“What struck me most vividly at my third Infosecurity is the level of thought that some vendors put into their show programme. As well as the standard demos stickers and sweet giveaways, I seen a plethora of unusual giveaways, including extremely popular graffitied water bottles given away by vendor N-Cypher, and metal reusable straws provided by HackerOne – It seems that the war on single-use plastics has made it to the Infosecurity community! The attendees also seemed to twig that trade shows are hungry business, as food and drinks were widely available at various stands; Coffee, 99 flakes, sweets, canapés and of course, alcohol were to be found in abundance. No chance of going hungry at InfoSec!”
Julia Langsman, Account Director – Eskenzi PR:
“It was great to catch up with old and new faces at Infosec. It’s always great to speak to vendors, reporters and analysts, and learn more about the latest trends in the industry. One thing that was really clear to me this year was how the show has evolved to become more environmentally-friendly. Whereas in previous years, visitors seemed hellbent on collecting their own body weight in light sabres, fidget-spinners, selfie-sticks, and general show ‘swag’ – this year, vendors had been much more creative about attracting visitors. Stands were more visually creative to encourage passers-by – whether using VR-headset games or water features – which all provided for some excellent talking points as people walked around the show.”
Lara Lackie, Account Director – Eskenzi PR:
“With so many of our clients being based in the US, the main highlight of Infosecurity Europe for me is that it gives us the opportunity to meet in person. I also loved the variety of booths on show; I think my favourite this year had to be Bulletproof with its huge armoured truck – so original! As well as arranging and staffing 23 media and analyst briefings for my three attending clients, I particularly enjoyed the Escape Room that was on site. It was a great team building exercise that I enjoyed with a colleague and client, and it definitely provided some well-needed light relief on the last day of the show.”
Milly Atkinson-Handley, Account Executive – Eskenzi PR:
“Being a newbie to Infosecurity and cybersecurity alike, it was a whirlwind of an event. Meeting so many new people and putting faces to those that I’d previously only known via email was a highlight. Walking the show floor and talking to all the different vendors about the work they were doing really opened my eyes to how diverse and unique this industry is. Getting a chance to try out the escape room with a colleague and client was an enjoyable break on the last day, and a great teambuilding exercise, particularly given we managed to escape with a few minutes to spare!”
Sabina Reghellin, Account Executive – Eskenzi PR:
“Who said that case studies are impossible in the cybersecurity industry? The highlight of my experience at this year’s Infosecurity Europe was an insightful talk by Alan Radford, technical director at One Identity, and John Paul O’Leary, Systems Operation Team Leader at Laya Healthcare, about the challenges of Identity Access Management (IAM) and Privileged Access Management (PAM). As a leading health insurance provider, Laya Healthcare not only needed to streamline its IAM processes, but also needed to operate with compliance in mind. Having worked as a PR Account Executive for One Identity for a while, listening to a satisfied customer explaining how their organisation managed to achieve smoother, faster and GDPR compliant procedures with the help of One Identity’s solution was especially rewarding. I truly felt like I was working for the good guys, keeping our personal information secured and out of the hands of who could misuse them.”
James Montague, Account Executive – Eskenzi PR:
“This was my first Infosecurity Europe event and I hope it won’t be the last. It was every bit as exciting, interesting, eye-opening, exhausting and beer-filled as my colleagues had forewarned. It exposed me to new tasks, such as interacting with prospective clients through business development, facilitating scheduled and impromptu interviews at the frenzied Eskenzi press lunch, and it taught me even more about Europe’s burgeoning cybersecurity industry and the passion people have for growing and improving it.”
