Troy Stewart
Account Manager, Respond Software
Respond Software initially sponsored the ISE® Southeast Executive Forum and Awards, but chose to sponsor the ISE® West Executive Forum and Awards at the Exabyte level because it was drawing a crowd of noticeably high-level CISOs. Overall, I would rate the sponsorship experience a 9.5 out of 10—it was a great experience.
Being a smaller event, ISE® West really gave us a lot of facetime with the guests. At other conferences, you spend time trying to mingle with hundreds or even thousands of professionals and sorting through the noise just trying to have conversations with people. By comparison, the ISE® Programs are the right size with a managed audience and agenda that provide many opportunities for valuable open discussions instead of a 30-second elevator pitch, and that made a sponsorship incredibly worthwhile.
Furthermore, the crowd of attending professionals that came to the ISE® Program are highly involved, highly influential members in the industry. They are very invested in their security teams, their organization, and in information security—and that’s why they attend, so they can connect with one another. That’s why we sponsored not only ISE® Southeast but also ISE® West. We know that they are one hundred percent engaged with one another and with us.
Being the Exabyte Sponsor was an especially valuable experience, because T.E.N. really ensured the guests at the event really knew about us and learned about us. As a smaller company, that was truly meaningful for us. Every step of the way, our name and our people were intermingled with key people in the industry. By the end of the day, our name was embedded in their minds, and probably stayed there for a long while after.
I have done dozens of different events, and the highlight for me was in how T.E.N. ensured our sponsorship was executed almost perfectly. Everything was prepared and ready to go for us, and we only had to set up our table at the Sponsor Pavilion. Otherwise, I was able to walk in to the event and spend my time interacting face-to-face with executives and maximize my team’s time at the ISE® Program—maximizing our potential for having critical conversations and establishing connections.
Anyone who would consider sponsorship of an ISE® Program should ensure they bring the members of their team who are ready and willing to engage with executives. At an ISE® Program, they will spend their time doing almost nothing else and can expect a successful, enjoyable experience as a sponsor.