Following the success of Genetec Connect DX, the Genetec virtual trade show and conference, the company is planning a similar event in the autumn. Genetec is also ramping up its education programmes with the immediate online availability of its entire technical curriculum including instructor-led classes, bespoke training, and self-paced learning options. The company has also announced that it will significantly reduce attendance at major in-person trade shows, conventions and conferences for the rest of the year.

"The whole Genetec team is motivated and engaged to help the people who put their trust in us," said Pierre Racz, President of Genetec, Inc. "These initiatives are about doing the right thing for our customers, our employees, and the industry as a whole. While we are all keen to get back on the road and interact with our customers and colleagues in person, I would much rather lose business than put a single customer or employee at risk."

According to Genetec, over 8,200 industry professionals from all over the world registered for Connect DX. Each of the 4,750 attendees who participated in the event spent an average of 9 hours each attending expert panels, educational sessions and product demos, and visiting partners' booths, leading to a total of 20,057 unique presentation views and 22,426 booth visits. Over 40 hours of content from Connect DX is now available on demand from the registration page, for existing registrants, and the post show registration page for newcomers.

Building on the success of its first virtual trade show, Genetec is planning another Connect DX event later this year. An invitation-only gathering, it will be targeted at partners, consultants and end users. The company is also announcing a bi-weekly podcast that will explore the everyday challenges of managing and improving security, operations and intelligence with a practical look at real-world solutions and best practices. More information on both initiatives will follow in the coming weeks.

"We are presented with a significant opportunity to reassess our in-person events model and think in non-traditional ways," said Andrew Elvish, Vice President of Marketing at Genetec. "Looking ahead, we will be putting the emphasis on our signature in-person events such as our Connect series, and in the near term focusing on digital experiences that deliver a high level of engagement without having to travel. The overwhelmingly positive feedback we received from everyone who participated in our first digital experience, Connect DX, clearly demonstrates that the physical security industry is ready to embrace new ways of connecting, networking and learning."

Online training and certification

To ensure continued access to its training and certification classes in spite of the current travel restrictions, Genetec is making its entire course curriculum and instructor-led classes available online, leveraging the latest learning technologies. In the last 6 weeks, the Genetec education team has already remotely trained over 900 professionals and is ramping up its schedule of offerings with live training courses across all time zones while also offering opportunities for self-paced learning. Bespoke training is now also available online with a dedicated instructor.

"Our team is fully committed to providing the best learning experience possible to all our customers around the world. After rigorously testing and vetting new approaches, we are offering a comprehensive technical training curriculum in a fully virtual environment, making use of several great tools and new techniques, including: our Learning Management System, a practice environment within Microsoft Azure, how-to videos, revamped exam scenarios, and hardware simulators, to name a few," said Nadia Boujenoui, Vice President of Customer Experience at Genetec. "We have pushed hard to ensure multiple online training options are available to customers but some things haven't changed, including the individual attention from our talented instructors, our trainer-to-student ratio, and rich discussions with other professionals during our live courses, all of which are key to effective learning."