Report: AEV/AEO/ESSA Technology Working Group meeting, November 3, 2016

The AEV/AEO/ESSA Technology Working Group convened at Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre for the final meeting of the year on November 3rd 2016 with Murray Dickson of The NEC in the chair.

Dickson opened the meeting by thanking Farnborough International for hosting the meeting, and after reading the apologies, went on to welcome the new attendees, and asked the group to approve the minutes of the last meeting, which it duly did.

Having dispensed with the formalities, Dickson then introduced Daniel Lawrence, NPCC national coordinator for Cyber PROTECT. Lawrence began by explaining his role in raising awareness of cybercrime and cyber attacks through presentations like these. He advised members on the best course of action in the event of a cyber attack or fraud, and encouraged members to join the Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP), and information on how to do this was circulated amongst members after the meeting.

Dickson added that the NEC is planning a data breach table-top exercise in the near future and hoped to be able to update the group at the next meeting.

The group then moved on to the agenda discussion topics, starting with whether further updates were required to the Connectivity section of the eGuide. Dickson drew the groups attention to the amendments to the Connectivity section that had been circulated and highlighted, and asked the group to feedback to AEV before the end of November.

After listening to an update on the Olympia Cached Data system, from Amer Vered of eForce, Olympia London, the group heard from the Chair on the subject of location tracking. Dickson stated that the NEC was on the cusp of going live with location tracking at the venue, and Olympia London was trialling tracking technology at present. The group heard that whilst the potential for this technology to deliver good data, uptake and interest from organisers and exhibitors isn't creating a great deal of demand at the moment. The group resolved to revisit the topic at a later date.

On the next topic for discussion, certification, Tom McInerney of Etherlive raised concerns about the loose certification for IT engineers. Emma Clarke of BDC echoed his concerns, saying that an industry specific certification may be what is required. Andrew Harrison, ESSA director, added that the Electrics Committee had taken action in this area, and that he would be happy to discuss with group members how ESSA could help with raising and furthering professional standards in the industry. Lawrence added his suggestion that members also take a look at www.firebrandtraining.co.uk.

Closing the discussion topics, Dickson asked if members had switched over to Windows 10, and wanted to know what the cost and licensing considerations might be like. The group agreed to table an agenda item for the next meeting to discuss this issue.

After completing the discussion topics on the agenda, the group moved on to round table news and member updates. Following contributions from several members, Dickson then asked those present to consider whether the Technology Working Group was still an effective meeting. Jonathan Smith of Farnborough International suggested that the cross-association nature of the group was beneficial.

Following the round table news, the group agreed on several future agenda items raised during the meeting, and confirmed the date for the next meeting as 28 June 2017 at the NEC.