Thoughts from my first GSX - Joe Saunders

ASIS Victoria Chapter Member Joe Saunders shares his experiences at GSX 2022, Atlanta GA.

If you’re a cricket fan, at least once in your life you need to see an Ashes test at Lord’s. If you’re an aspiring country singer, you owe it to yourself to visit Nashville. And if you’re a security professional, you need to experience a GSX. For the uninitiated, the GSX is the Global Security Exchange – the world’s largest security conference and exhibition presented by ASIS International and if it’s not on
your bucket list, it should be.

This year I had the tremendous honour of being invited to speak at the GSX in Atlanta, GA, and attend for the very first time. This is something I’ve wanted to do for over 10 years – since I first learned the conference existed. I had heard so many great things about the experience that I approached it with some trepidation, thinking it couldn’t possibly live up to expectations.

I was wrong.

In this article, I’ll be sharing my biggest takeaways from the educational sessions, the industry expo, and the event as a whole.

Education Sessions

The only possible downside to there being 150+ educational sessions to choose from is that I inevitably had multiple concurrent sessions that I would have loved to have gone to, but had to choose one and settle for missing the others. That said, there was an incredible array of topics; allowing attendees to choose the stream of subjects that most interest them. I chose sessions that were most relevant for my own consulting services, as well as areas I want to continue developing my knowledge of. My three main focusses were workplace violence, security of critical infrastructure and cyber/physical convergence.

All of the education sessions were interesting and insightful. It’s always gratifying and somewhat of a relief to see that other professionals are facing the same challenges as you, and reaching the same conclusions as you, despite different cultures and continents. That was my experience when it came to the workplace violence sessions, as the rapid escalation in violence and aggression has truly become an international phenomenon and not something constrained by geographical boundaries.

I sincerely enjoyed the critical infrastructure and cyber-related sessions also, and it was great to be in the room with practitioners who are a few years further down the journey than many of their counterparts in Australia. The quality of information was high, and the willingness to share and support each other was apparent in every session.

Expo

If you like exciting new toys, you’ll love the expo. More than 400 exhibitors took to the Exhibition Hall at the Georgia World Congress Centre. The sheer volume and range of displays was overwhelming at first, and I was still discovering venders for the first time on my third day wandering the space. Exhibitors represented everything from uniform suppliers, universities/training colleges and guarding companies to artificial intelligence, software and robotics manufacturers.

The majority of the larger displays were dedicated to various technology advancements centred around automation and AI. Just like Australia, the American security industry is battling a staff shortage and thus more and more organisations are looking for ways to automate and do more with less people. Some of the advancements in AI camera systems and intelligence reporting were of
particular interest and something worth monitoring.

Overall Event Experience

I feel confident in saying that attending the GSX was the single most impactful decision I’ve made about my security career in the past 12 months. The benefits extend far beyond the learnings in the education sessions, or the exposure to new products and services. After all, we can achieve those things from anywhere with an internet connection and the patience to sit through a webinar.

The atmosphere at the event was invigorating. I had conversations of a depth I don’t normally get to engage in, and shared many meals with professionals with specialties and backgrounds vastly different to my own. I approached this trip with the mantra “maximise your minutes”, and this helped me push through the inevitable jetlag and fatigue to attend as many networking events and happy hours as possible. This was certainly a worthy investment of energy, with a highlight being the ASIS Cigar Night on Tuesday evening in a Prohibition-era whisky bar in downtown Atlanta.

After the past two years of virtual events and conferences, being able to meet many colleagues for the first time face-to-face was a tremendous experience and truly evolved relationships that began online into true friendships.

Concluding thoughts

Do it.
That’s all.
Just do it.

If you only do it once, it’ll be worthwhile just to see a security event of this scale. Alternatively you may end up like me and leave with a desire to return each year as an annual professional development strategy. I know I will be unpacking the notes, downloads, and books I’ve left with for months to come, and it will only lead to even greater growth in my knowledge and approach in the year to come.

I would like to thank my employers, Risk 2 Solution and ASIS Victoria Australia Chapter for their kind support in subsidising this trip for me to speak on the greatest stage in our industry. I look forward to sharing these learnings at every opportunity over the coming months.

Joe Saunders, CPP F.ISRM RPP

Joe Saunders is a Certified Protection Professional, an expert in workplace violence prevention and behavioural risk, and the General Manager Business Integration, Development and Delivery at Risk 2 Solution Group.