As our clients head to San Francisco for RSAC 2018, many of them took time to share with PAN what they’re anticipating and prioritizing for the event. Through this series of blog posts for PAN, they glean their observations on trends and how to stand out this year.

PAN connected with Jackson Connell, Corporate Communications Manager at iboss, about RSAC:

PAN: What are your thoughts on RSAC 2018? What are you most looking forward to?

Jackson Connell: One thing I love about RSA is that it really brings out the most interesting and creative ideas from vendors as part of the competition to break through the noise. I’m always excited to hear about these ideas so that I can think about new ways to up the ante next year.

PAN: If you had to choose the single most important item to prepare for RSAC, what would it be and when would that process begin?

JC: I think one thing that can get lost in this competition is the relevancy to your company and value-add to conference attendees. The iboss team was very focused on coming up with interesting concepts that also helped us tell our story, which can be a fine line to walk. However, that’s what separates a successful conference campaign from one that generates a lot of buzz but not actual results. The earlier you start this process, the better; typically, we like to have a meeting immediately following the show to start laying the groundwork for next year, while all the pros and cons are still fresh in our minds. The real meat of the planning usually starts in November.

PAN: As you know, there are more than 550 exhibitors at RSAC. How will you make your company stand out?

JC: Everyone loves free stuff, but more importantly, we try to find ways that engage and challenge conference attendees. This year, the iboss booth will feature a live cybersecurity quiz show with daily winners. We’ll have the scoreboard updated in real-time, so everyone knows the score they need to beat within 90 seconds. It should be interesting to see how competitive our booth visitors get!

PAN: What are your top three buzzwords for RSAC 2018?

JC: Ransomware, cryptomining, and cloud  will be the three biggest buzzwords this year.

Ransomware has been one of the biggest topics for a couple of years now, but that’s definitely going to continue following this year’s high-profile attacks. The focus on cryptomining will also continue increasing, right along with the value of the cryptocurrencies themselves, as hackers focus on finding new sources of revenue. Cloud is going to be another hot topic this year as organizations continue to look for ways to not only secure their cloud infrastructure, but to leverage SaaS and cloud-based cybersecurity solutions that are better suited for today’s mobile workforce.

PAN: Why is RSA a valuable conference to attend and what aspect of the show (sessions, booth talks, etc.) provide the most value for your business?

JC: What I find most useful about RSA are the business-oriented goals of most attendees. Other security shows like Black Hat are great for hearing about interesting new research and attack trends, but for a B2B marketer, RSA is the best venue for discussing how to actually defend enterprise networks. Most attendees are focused on finding solutions to the challenges their organizations are facing every day, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to solve.

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