ASIAL Insights 2025: Our Highlights and Industry Takeaways

Leadership Face to Face with Customers

If you attended the event, you might have had the chance to connect with some of our senior leadership team. Andy Bane, (CEO), Sarah Thompson, (Chief Product Officer), Gina Hills (Chief Financial Officer), and Ben Italiano (General Manager APAC) were all on the tradeshow floor to listen, learn, and engage directly with customers as our ongoing dedication to being a customer-centric organization.  

Ben shares “A big thank you to everyone who visited our stand, it was a pleasure connecting with you. Our customers' success is at the heart of everything we do, so having the opportunity to engage directly and hear your insights was truly invaluable. We’re already looking forward to seeing you all again next year!” 

This event also marked Andy’s first tradeshow in Australia, providing a great opportunity to introduce him to some of our Australia and New Zealand customers, even squeezing in some site visits. He had some great conversations with everyone, sharing his vision for ICT’s future. 

Protege GX Integrations and Milestone Bidirectional Demo

There were plenty of conversations around Protege GX’s powerful integration capabilities. The open platform delivers both pre-built and custom solutions, giving you the flexibility to deliver exactly what your clients need. 

The highlight? Our live Milestone bidirectional integration demo. Attendees saw firsthand how they can manage systems through either a Protege GX or Milestone XProtect front. 

With over 40 proven ICT integrations already available and our new Integration Marketplace launching soon for third-party solutions, we're continuing to make it easier than ever to create a solution which is tailored to you. If you have a question on integration capabilities, reach out to us today. 

Protege GX is Evolving

We had the chance to offer exclusive previews of Protege GX6 which is the evolution of our core platform that simplifies operations for the end user. The overwhelming positive response on the tradeshow floor was great to see, so stay tuned - there’s more to come soon! 

What We're Hearing

This year brought a great mix of people to the ICT stand, and it really did feel like we had conversations with individuals from all walks of life.  Alongside familiar faces, it was great to welcome so many new ones, from education and universities to multi-site dairy farms and even solar farms. We’ve summarized some key themes below:  

ASIAL Class 5 - High Security Solutions

There’s a growing buzz around ASIAL Class 5 high security solutions and hearing this level of interest was music to our ears. We've held our ASIAL Class 5 certification for 5 years now, awarded by the Australian Security Industry Association and shared by only a select few manufacturers. This isn’t just a badge on our wall; it's your guarantee of high security solutions for government agencies, correctional facilities, data centers, financial institutions, and other critical sites. Our Protege systems and products have been thoroughly tested to exceed the rigorous requirements associated with Class 5, so choosing ICT means you get reliable, advanced technology to protect your organization.

AI Remains a Hot Topic

It’s no surprise that AI remains a hot topic, dominating many conversations and was even the focus of some educational sessions at ASIAL. What stood out to us, though, was the noticeable shift in how people are talking about it now with the dialogue maturing. As AI now becomes a part of our daily lives, the conversations have evolved from “What is this?” to “How can this help me?” It’s clear that as AI technology is continuing to advance, so is the understanding and curiosity around its practical applications.  

Breaches Start with an Open Door

A key topic on the floor was how the lines between physical security and cybersecurity really are becoming more and more intertwined. Physical and digital threats now work hand-in-hand, making integrated defense your only real protection.  

As Sarah Thompson, Chief Product Officer, mentions “As the SMB market moves towards the cloud, the cyber element becomes more and more interesting.” This shift to cloud-based solutions isn’t just changing how businesses operate; it’s also reshaping the way they think about and approach security. The interplay between physical and cyber security is no longer a nice-to-have. 

That's where Protege delivers. We take data security and compliance seriously, which is why we’re ISO 27001 certified, the global standard for information security and keeping data safe, with security built into every level of our business. Our Trust Center also provides the transparency, reliability, and confidence you need. 

Ongoing Move to Mobile Credentials & Impact on Traditional Access

It's really no surprise that the shift to mobile credentials continues to gain momentum. It's clear (and it has been for a while) that mobile credentials are shaping the future of access control, and we certainly had this echoed back to us a lot of last week. A topic we talked a lot about earlier this year in our 2025 Security Access Control Trends blog where demand for simple, contactless experiences keeps climbing. If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check it out! 

Overall, it was great to connect with everyone and amazing to see so many people make the trip to Sydney for the event at the ICC. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event, which looks like it will be held in a new space at the ICC!