Built-in Programs Europe is positioning its 2026 version as a extra strategically centered occasion, reflecting broader adjustments in how organisations method office know-how, unified communications, and hybrid working.
Talking to UC As we speak, ISE Managing Director Mike Blackman stated the emphasis this yr is much less on scale and spectacle, and extra on serving to attendees perceive what’s coming subsequent and put together for it.
“ISE 2026 goes to be extra strategic, extra future-focused than ever earlier than,” Blackman stated.
“You’re going to see much more about what’s coming sooner or later, not solely from exhibitors, but additionally from the convention content material.”
Product Cycles and Sensible Demonstration
Product launches stay central to ISE’s function within the business, notably as producers have more and more aligned their R&D and launch cycles with the beginning of the yr.
Blackman stated that shift has labored in ISE’s favour, each for exhibitors and for integrators planning their buying cycles.
“Producers have modified their R&D cycles to launch merchandise at the start of the yr,” he stated. “It suits their schedules, it suits integrators’ shopping for durations, and it really works extraordinarily nicely.”
Alongside new launches, ISE 2026 is anticipated to put larger emphasis on displaying how know-how is definitely used.
This implies a rise in dwell demonstrations, use circumstances, and tech excursions designed to maneuver the dialog past specs.
“You’re going to see extra demos, extra use circumstances, and extra alternatives to go outdoors and see in-situ installations,” he stated. “That’s about seeing how different corporations are implementing UC options in the true world.”
The method displays a wider shift in purchaser behaviour, with organisations more and more searching for proof of interoperability, scalability, and operational worth relatively than remoted options.
Unified Communications and the Hybrid Office
Unified communications stays a core focus of the present, formed by the continued development of hybrid working.
Blackman stated ISE continues to draw each channel companions and end-user organisations, however famous that the expectations of finish prospects have modified considerably.
“UC has turn out to be a central a part of how organisations work,” he stated. “It’s not nearly techniques in workplaces anymore, it’s additionally about how these techniques are managed on desktops and private gadgets.”
He added that workforce flexibility and rising actual property prices are pushing extra organisations in the direction of hybrid fashions, growing strain on IT and services groups to ship dependable, scalable collaboration environments.
“We’re seeing extra organisations saying hybrid simply is sensible – younger individuals coming into the business nonetheless count on it, and firms want to supply options that truly permit for that.”
For UC professionals, a lot of this exercise will probably be concentrated in Halls 1 and a pair of, which deal with unified communications and schooling know-how and host lots of the main platform suppliers.
Safety, AI and Increasing the Scope of the Present
Cybersecurity is anticipated to be extra distinguished at ISE 2026, following a sequence of high-profile incidents affecting main organisations and infrastructure.
Blackman stated these occasions have shifted the dialog with prospects.
“Loads of what’s been within the information has made each integrators and their prospects much more conscious of what the threats might be,” he stated. “The concept is to tell prospects what they should do, but additionally to present integrators clearer solutions for the questions they’re being requested.”
The Cybersecurity Summit will deal with sensible concerns, relatively than summary danger, whereas a brand new space of the present, Spark, expands ISE’s remit into content material creation and artistic applied sciences.
“Spark is de facto about supporting the artistic industries – it covers areas that have been lacking earlier than, notably round content material creation and software program options.”
AI implementation may also function throughout the occasion, largely as an embedded functionality inside merchandise.
Blackman pointed to a keynote from Sol Rashidi as one of many highlights for organisations attempting to maneuver from experimentation to implementation.
“Loads of producers are already utilizing AI to reinforce how their merchandise work,” he stated. “What corporations are actually searching for is steerage on implement it correctly within the office.”
Planning, Preparation and Takeaways
With greater than 1,700 exhibitors anticipated, Blackman stated preparation stays important.
The commonest mistake attendees make, he stated, is attempting to see the whole lot.
“ISE is simply too massive to see the whole lot in 4 days,” he stated. “The hot button is to deal with what issues you’re attempting to unravel and plan round that.”
He additionally inspired attendees to make larger use of the present’s planning instruments and convention content material, which he believes are sometimes ignored.
“Lots of people miss the content material that offers them actual perception into what’s occurring within the business – that’s the place you begin to perceive what you really need to think about when placing techniques in place.”
Finally, Blackman stated the intention of ISE 2026 is for attendees to go away with readability relatively than overload.
“It’s about going away with a greater view of the place the business goes – and understanding how different organisations are coping with the identical challenges.”
