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Word on The Street - Inside RSA's Vendor Mayhem
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Kyle and I dive into the reality of the RSA Conference experience, exploring how the security industry's biggest event has transformed into a vendor-dominated spectacle with declining CISO attendance.
• The conference atmosphere is overwhelmingly loud with vendors everywhere and marketing materials covering every available surface
• San Francisco completely transforms during RSA, with security company logos plastered on restaurant windows and hotels taken over for exclusive events
• CISOs are increasingly skipping RSA, with many security leaders openly avoiding the conference
• The "sales to sales" dynamic dominates the floor, with vendors primarily connecting with other vendors rather than actual buyers
• Having a presence at RSA remains an unwritten requirement for security companies hoping to work with enterprise clients
• Strategic attendees focus on off-site meetings, invitation-only lunches, and smaller gatherings rather than the main conference floor
• The true value comes from face-to-face connections with people from around the world who have gathered in one location
Setting the Scene: Conference Noise
Speaker 1How you doing buddy . Good , If you can't hear , it is loud . I'm right now on the floor . I'm actually trying to walk over to a quieter space .
Speaker 2I think these iPhones are really good . I don't know . Do you have an iPhone ?
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2Yeah , these iPhones are really good at blocking out sound , because I don't hear anything . It's like a whisper .
Speaker 1It is . I'm telling you'm it's loud , it's really loud .
Speaker 2The floor is packed right now oh , wow , well , the the the thing that I have been thinking about the whole time , you know , during this rsa season , is just the number of vendors that are going to be out there , like the sea of the ocean , the tidal waves of marketing , merch and people trying to get your
The Vendor Takeover Reality
Speaker 2attention . Is it the way I imagine ? Like ? Is it a shit show ?
Speaker 1yeah , you're spot on , and I want to lean into a little bit of your uh shit show maybe . Picture here there's vendors galore , lots of cardboard hanging from the ceiling . You know , lots of t-shirts and lots of stickers that are out on tables . That's the reality for these conferences it is . You know , a lot of account executives that are here hoping to meet with larger enterprises . Um , the booth culture is in full force . And then , you know , even in the surrounding city blocks of the Moscone Center , it's mayhem . Every restaurant has their windows plastered with logos of security companies , every hotel is completely taken over . All the presidential suites are basically invite only sections . You know , that's , that's what it is that's nuts .
Speaker 2That's crazy , you know . Okay , it's a lot worse than I thought . I didn't know that they took over the town oh yeah , oh yeah , the entirety of san francisco .
Speaker 1Actually , when you fly into sfo . Uh , I got off my plane at like two o'clock in the morning and they have the RSA conference 2025 welcome sign right outside of my American Airlines flight , so it starts as soon as you get off your plane .
Speaker 2Do you feel like
Are CISOs Actually Attending?
Speaker 2everybody's selling to everybody ? Sometimes when I'm at those conferences , that's not how I feel . I feel like all the salespeople and all the marketers are selling to each other in a way . I mean , how are companies getting into the enterprise ? Do you get the sense that they're selling to each other ? Do you think that people are making real traction with CISOs , from top-notch logos ?
Speaker 1Yeah . So this is probably the contention I have with these conferences . You're spot on right . It's sales to sales . It's very difficult to get FaceTime with a CISO , a decision maker , who's going to bring in your tool . The reality is I'm seeing it firsthand Less CISOs are coming to RSA . There's a number of which that are in my network that are actually being quite outspoken about not attending this year . It's very much for show and also a big part of the culture is if you are a major player in security , it is almost of expectation , if you want to work with enterprise , that you have to be at RSA . I don't know if that culture is going to change , but the buyers are maybe not here as much as they used to be . Something to think about .
Speaker 2Yeah , I hear that all the time , and it's another thing to hear you say it because you're there , you're experiencing it and you've got some skin in the game , right . So that's , I mean , you're the eyes and ears , right now , of all of those who have not attended RSA for good reason and for everything that you highlighted . Absolutely right , what's your purpose in being at RSA
Strategic Approach to Conference Value
Speaker 2?
Speaker 1So the goal for RSA , for a company like Pensar , is to get our name out there . We have a ton of customers that are here floating around in San Francisco . We're using the opportunity to highlight the security conversation and everything that we're doing in agent security . Yesterday we hosted a podcast launch . We actually rolled out our own podcast . It's called Insecure Agents . We co-hosted it with a major CISO that's here at RSA and that , I think , type of event .
Speaker 1It's off the campus , it's in another beautiful space close to Moscone Center and it's a good way to get people separated from the craziness in a much chiller environment where they can have these conversations or listen to leaders talk about the topics that they want to learn about , and I personally think that that is the best use of my time . I spend most of the day actually off site . I'm only really going to be at the Moscow Center for maybe an hour or two . I like to go to the meetups , I like to go to the invitation lunches . I like to go to less of the happy hours . It's more of a one-on-one experience that I want to have just while everybody's in town . You know , I'm all the way here from New York . There are people who are here from other parts of the country , other parts of the world . It's a great place to be central and meet everybody face-to-face .
Closing Thoughts and Gratitude
Speaker 2Awesome , kyle . Thanks so much . Thanks a million . I'm glad that you took some time out of your busy afternoon to even talk to me and I really appreciate it . Great work what you're doing . I love you guys . And if you see a guy walk actually no , alan's not going to be there this year . I was going to say if you see a guy walking around with a big cowboy hat , tell him Josh said hi and give him a bottle of whiskey . But he's not there either . Yeah , you know what ?
Speaker 1It's still exciting . I'm having a great time . I'm really grateful to be here . I'll do all the good wishes for you out here , Josh , but you know it's changing . Still making it happen , though . Thanks again , Thanks again for the call .
Speaker 2All right , thank you .