The 16th Integrated Systems Europe, which ran at the RAI Amsterdam from February 5-8, was the biggest, broadest-reaching, and most exciting edition of the show ever—confirming it as the international destination of choice for AV professionals.
As well as hosting 15 halls containing the latest technologies and solutions for pro AV and systems integration, the show provided its widest-ranging professional development program to date, extending its coverage of major vertical market sectors.
The largest ever ISE show floor—56,100 net square meters—housed 1,301 exhibitors. Of these 225 (17 percent) were companies taking space at ISE for the first time. At the close of ISE 2019, 92 percent of the available floor space at ISE 2020 had already been sold.
The overall number of registered visitors to ISE 2019 was 81,268—another record figure for the show. Of these, a remarkable 32 percent were attending ISE for the first time. Wednesday saw the largest ever one-day attendance figure for any show at the Amsterdam RAI, and the number of attendees on Friday passed 20,000 for the first time.
A key theme of the show was how AV technology enables creative imaginations to produce rich experiences. This was explored in both the opening address from master projection designer Bart Kresa, and the closing keynote given by Tupac Martir, creative director and co-founder of Satore Studio. They were part of a professional development program involving 300 international thought leaders, subject experts, and creative minds.
Mike Blackman, Integrated Systems Events managing director, commented: “As an exhibition, as an unbeatable source of education and professional development, and as a destination for a global industry to come together and do business—ISE 2019 has delivered. Our opening address, closing keynote, and our two projection mapping features were fantastic showcases for how event professionals and others can harness AV technology to better realize their creativity.”
[Surfeit of Standards: ISE 2019 Recap]
The day after his opening address, the world premiere of Bart Kresa’s latest projection mapping sculpture, Sviatovid, took place at the RAI. Constantly changing, highly detailed imagery projected all around the 5m-high figure, synchronized with a dynamic soundtrack, made for a compelling and memorable AV experience.
In ISE 2019’s other projection mapping first, the façade of the soon-to-open nhow RAI Amsterdam hotel, just next to the exhibition center, became a projection mapping canvas, with video shot that day at the show forming part of each evening’s display.
Presented under the slogan “Learn. Discover. Be Inspired,” ISE 2019’s professional development program featured strong involvement from the show’s co-owners AVIXA and CEDIA, as well as conferences organized by vertical market specialists.
For the first time, the nearby Hotel Okura was used as an ISE venue, hosting five of the show’s 10 conferences. New additions for 2019 included Hospitality Tech Summit by HTNG; Digital Cinema Summit, produced in conjunction with Digital Cinema Report; AGORA, for the sports venue market, produced by MONDO | STADIA; and visitor attraction and theme park specialist blooloop returned to ISE for a second year with its new attractionsTECH conference.
[What We Saw at ISE 2019: Day 1]
AVIXA hosted two of its “What’s Next” conferences, both of which had sold out before the show opened. These two strategy and technology conferences focused on integrated AV experiences in higher education and in enterprise. The association also ran a series of free 20-minute FlashTrack education sessions on its stand.
CEDIA, which used ISE 2019 to begin its 30th anniversary celebration events, had a four-day professional development program with over 36 different courses, covering pertinent subjects under the headings of Technical Skills, Emerging Trends, and Business Success. Additionally, its stand hosted free CEDIA Talks on topical industry issues each day of the show.
An innovation for ISE 2019 was the Main Stage theater in Hall 8. This was the venue for high-level thought leadership presentations, best practice case studies, and expert-led panel discussions, many of which were “standing-room only.” Content was provided by AVIXA, CEDIA, and ISE itself, and the presentations were live-streamed to the ISE website.
ISE’s beating heart is its show floor, and ISE 2019 exhibitors once again made the most of the opportunity to launch new products and showcase their latest solutions. Among the technology trends in evidence were 8K displays; smart building technology, including the Internet of Things; AI-equipped devices; the continued progression of conferencing and collaboration technology; 3D projection mapping; a wider-than-ever choice of curved, flexible, transparent, and ever-smaller-pitch LED displays; and further developments in AV over IP and audio networking.
For AVIXA and CEDIA, the event offered the perfect opportunity to showcase their various initiatives for 2019 in the areas of professional development and industry representation.
Dave Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD, chief executive officer of AVIXA, commented: “Congratulations to everyone involved with ISE on another record year. But let’s not lose sight of the many connections—both personal and professional—that were made in 2019.
“AVIXA defines success as being a catalyst for the growth of the global AV market and a hub for the profession and its practitioners. We certainly saw those twin goals become reality in Amsterdam. All of the focused conferences throughout the week, including AVIXA’s sold-out “What’s Next” conferences for higher education and enterprise technologists, and networking opportunities, such as those held for AVIXA’s Women’s Council and EMEA members, help bring people together in order to propel this industry forward. Our FlashTracks stage of training opportunities was buzzing, and special programs, like ISE’s student program for fostering workforce development, demonstrated some of the many ways the show continues to be a dynamic, critical gathering of industry professionals.
“As always, it is our privilege to work with the talented team at ISE, CEDIA, and the RAI. The commercial value of a trade fair like ISE cannot be overestimated nor over-celebrated.”
Tabatha O’Connor, CEO of CEDIA, commented: “We’ve enjoyed an amazing ISE 2019! CEDIA chose this year’s show as the kickoff point for our 30-year anniversary celebrations and what an awesome week it has been.
“Our professional development program has exceeded expectations, with delegates from around the world taking advantage of the excellent and varied training opportunities on offer. A number of classes, including our new full-day Home Cinema Design Masterclass, even sold out—which was great. The free CEDIA Talks on our booth also proved popular and we were delighted to showcase CEDIA Award winning projects with support from integrators and industry brand members on the ISE Main Stage.
“Above all, ISE is a great place for the CEDIA global community to connect not just with the many exciting, new technologies on display but with their industry friends and peers as well. We met with many new and existing international members on the CEDIA booth, giving us the chance to share progress on our three-year strategic plan and talk about the many initiatives we have coming down the pipe. We also welcomed over 200 guests to the Heineken Brewery for our annual CEDIA Party and 30th birthday cake cutting—a fantastic evening enjoyed by all comers.
“The show has been a terrific success and we can’t wait for ISE 2020!”
ISE 2020 will be held at the RAI Amsterdam from February 11-14, 2020.
