Flying off to RSA

This is a big weekend. It is the last one before the annual IT security fun-fest at RSA. I recall last year there were predictions that this year there would only be three vendors in the Exhibit Hall due to consolidation. I hate to say it by I know from my meeting calendar that this is clearly not the case this year.

We have seen some interesting things happen since last year's event. Several NAC vendors have either gone on to other things or have dropped off the radar screen altogether. This was predictable given the lack of uptake for NAC that has been evident since the summer of 2006 time frame. Enterprise IT security folks are still watching the developments in this area but it would appear to be an "NFL" kind of game, requiring big bucks to make it work as advertised.

With several well publicised data breaches since the last RSA conference it will be interesting to see what everyone is talking about this year. I was amazed to see that someone actually walked out of an enterprise with $600 Million in intellectual property going to China and no one but the airport inspector knew it had happened.

And to think that there are still some corporate managers still trying to justify IT infrastructure improvements.