The Story of ISE

Integrated Systems Europe

Integrated Systems Europe began life in 2004, with the first edition of the show being held in Geneva, Switzerland. It hosted 120 exhibitors and attracted 3,500 visitors. Most importantly, it laid the foundation for consecutive years of unprecedented growth for the annual show.

Fast forward 15 years, and ISE 2019 welcomed more than 1,300 exhibitors and over 81,000 visitors to the RAI Amsterdam.

ISE 2020 – which will be the final edition held in Amsterdam – is confidently expected to be the biggest in the show’s history with more attendees and exhibitors than ever before. One of the factors enabling this will be the construction of a permanent extension to Hall 5.

ISE is now recognised as the largest AV and systems integration show in the world. It is the European destination for an industry that is truly global. If you have business to do in any of the many market segments that make up this dynamic industry, you’ll want to be part of ISE – either as an exhibitor or an attendee.

As the show has grown, it has naturally changed and evolved. What started out as a temporary shop window for 120 companies is now a multi-faceted, four-day event that features a huge show floor, comprehensive education and professional development programmes, conferences, world class speakers and a multitude of affiliated and partner events.

ISE has helped formulate the systems integration industry and increased collaborative approaches across a wide range of complementary technologies.

The show’s growth has been steady and sustainable. Five years after launching, ISE 2009 welcomed over 560 exhibitors and almost 25,000 visitors. By 2012, the number of exhibitors broke 800 and more than 40,000 people attended the show. ISE 2016 hosted over 1,100 exhibitors and more than 65,000 visitors. The growth continued in subsequent years, when yet more records were broken.

Though the numbers and figures give a good indication of the show’s success and its importance to the industry, they don’t tell the whole story. As ISE has grown, so too have the layers of its offer. While its role as a showcase for the industry’s latest products and solutions remains at its core, it has developed into a platform for sharing ideas and insight – not just from within the AV industry but from other industries that cross it.

The organisation behind ISE – Integrated Systems Events LLC – is a joint venture between AVIXA and CEDIA, the two leading industry associations for the global audiovisual industry. It is very important to all of the organisational parties that ISE serves the industry in the best way it possibly can and that it remains strong, so that it can continue to support the industry – the companies and the people that populate it.

Maintaining its reputation for connecting new technologies, companies and end-user industries, ISE will continue to look for ways of improving and developing, in order to present innovation across its show floor, education programmes, conferences and beyond.

In 2021, the ISE exhibition will relocate to the Fira de Barcelona exhibition complex.

Voices of ISE

Numbers are one thing but they only count if the people on the show floor are happy. Companies and visitors attend ISE to be part of the largest AV systems integration show in the world and to build their understanding of the latest innovations and technologies that are driving the industry forward. We spoke to visitors and exhibitors at the show to find out how they felt about the latest installment of ISE. These are the voices of ISE.

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Strong and sustainable event growth – year after year

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Since its launch in 2004, ISE has grown year-on-year, with each event delivering higher numbers of exhibitors and attendees.

Over 1,300 companies exhibited at the four-day ISE 2019. The growth in size of ISE was the primary driver for the decision to increase the exhibition to four days in 2016. Four days gives exhibitors more ‘face time’ with attendees and affords attendees a longer period to visit stands and to take advantage of the many conferences and educational programmes on offer.

ISE is seen as a major launch-pad for manufacturers and service providers to propel new products and solutions into the AV and systems integration marketplace. Such activity inevitably attracts the media and in 2019 over 500 editors, technical writers and news journalists attended the exhibition.

ISE 2019 FACTS AND FIGURES NOW AVAILABLE

The Facts and Figures report for this year’s show contains a detailed picture of our attendees: where they come from, their seniority, their purchasing authority, their areas of interest and more besides.

In addition, the report draws on our extensive post-show research among attendees and exhibitors. It tells you what they thought of the event as a whole, and their views of many individual elements of the ISE 2019 experience.

Click to download the report.

Our Vision

By the time ISE 2019 closed its doors, Integrated Systems Europe had once again proven unequivocally why it is the international destination of choice for AV and systems integration professionals.

The future of ISE

Mike Blackman, Integrated Systems Events Managing Director, says:
“This is the only place where you can get an overview of the whole AV market in one place. More exhibitors, more floor space and more attendees than any other show worldwide – we bring the buyers and sellers together in one arena, so that they can come together to do business.”

David Labuskes, AVIXA CEO, says:
“For 16 years now, ISE has provided an excellent place for the European systems integration industry to meet. The show is perfect for companies in the region for demonstrating their new innovations to an interested and informed audience. AVIXA is proud to be co-owners of this trade show, there’s nothing quite like it in Europe and long may its success continue. There are four main reasons for ISE’s success: the excellent education programme put on by AVIXA and CEDIA; the opportunity to get up close and personal with the latest equipment; the excellent location – Amsterdam is a well-connected city; and, of course, it’s a very well run event and a credit to the organising team.”

Tabatha O’Connor, CEDIA Global President and CEO says:
“ISE has a unique and wonderful flavour. In many ways, it often feels more like a ‘family reunion’ than a trade show; a sense that’s definitely helped by its location in the fantastically warm, vibrant, and welcoming city of Amsterdam. With such a rich and varied exhibition and educational programme on offer throughout the four days, there’s no other trade show like ISE. We are so proud to be co-owners of this amazing event.”