As you saw last week, we were pretty busy at FOSE meeting people, shaking hands and talking about data-at-rest security. It was an interesting show to say the least.

Happening jointly during FOSE was GovSec – one pass got you on to both show floors. As a first-timer to FOSE, I have to admit, I’ve never been to a trade show floor where on one side I could learn all about various software and hardware technology to protect information; and on the other, see the latest in strobe lights for police cars and automatic sentry guns. It was a strange juxtaposition.

It was a very different show with a very different audience. It was by no means ‘bustling’ but there were a good amount of attendees. Feedback from folks I talked to that were familiar with the show said attendance seemed lower than previous years.

With the lighter attendance, it had me worried I’d only get about 5 people to the session I was presenting at, but much to my surprise, I think the final count was around 20 folks. Much better than any of us anticipated and I thank those that managed to stay awake for the 30 minutes I spoke.

By far the most interesting part of the show for me was the lack of competitors on the show floor. There wasn’t a single one of our major competitors in attendance which was hugely surprising given how much data encryption software the Government sector purchases annually.

As always it’s also great to interact with people who were genuinely interested in what we do and how we can help their organization – even folks that are using machines with SecureDoc asking, “What is this WinMagic stuff I see on my laptop every morning?” That’s the fun dynamic, getting to talk to prospects, existing customers and the users within the existing customer base. It’s those interactions that tend to really solidify the value in attending the show.