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Executive Director's Letter
 Dear members and friends of the Alliance:
We made it! The 2005 Fall Annual Conference is over. The mysterious sounds you may be hearing are the collective sighs of relief from the Alliance team who put this event together and especially myself – who is the person everyone would come to if we did not live up to our usual standards.
It is not possible for any one person to take credit for another great annual conference event. There are so many people who did their parts to make it successful that even beginning to single out people risks understating the efforts of someone else. But, I believe three things are essential for a good conference, so I will limit my accolades to only those in this letter, but remember that so many others are appreciated for their work but will go unmentioned.
The most important, I think, are the speakers. Those who attend these Smart Card Alliance conferences know that they are not going to hear commercials from vendors, but are going to listen to subject matter experts who have first-hand experience as an issuer or end-user, or who are qualified to speak on an application- or technology-related topic because of their professional experience. I believe all of our speakers lived up to that expectation, so they deserve the lion’s share of the credit. Our conference program committee did a magnificent job in lining up high-level speakers from financial institutions, merchants, government, transportation, mobile telecom, healthcare, and enterprise security. I can’t recall another conference I have attended that had so much diversity among its presenters. Having the Latin American perspective, in addition to the U.S. and Canadian experiences, added to this mix.
The second important element was the meeting venue – both facilities and location. This is the fourth time in 3 years that we have held our meeting at a Marriott property. Earlier this year, we were at the Renaissance (Marriott) in Washington, DC. You might also remember that the 2003 conference (Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) and the 2002 conference (Camelback in Scottsdale) were also Marriott properties. The Miami Biscayne Bay Marriott delivered on their promise to Bob Johnston (Executive Events) and me that they would make our group feel special. The food was great and the service from the dining staff to the meeting space staff was fantastic. Everything appeared to run smoothly only because of many behind-the-scenes adjustments and last minute changes that were executed out-of-sight of our meeting guests. The only thing they could not control was the weather, but looking at the prospect of yet another hurricane arriving one week after our event, we had good fortune smiling on us from above. We hope to announce the site and dates for our 2006 annual conference shortly.
The third most important element to a great conference is the networking among the attendees. We set a record for registrations at this year’s event, with 329 registrations. Those numbers were helped by the large turnout of Latin American attendees who traveled from Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and Bermuda. Our new participants, who are the foundation of our Latin America chapter, certainly added to the experience shared by all who attended. I was especially pleased to see the turnout for the two networking receptions and that the room stayed full long after the food and drinks were carted away. Also, the birds-of-a-feather roundtable discussions on Wednesday afternoon were packed full with additional chairs needed and, in the case of the contactless payments group, deciding to split into two separate discussion groups proved to be the right decision.
For those of you who missed the conference, we missed having you there as well. The next opportunity for the smart card industry to come together in the United States will be at the Smart Card Alliance 5th Annual Smart Cards in Government Conference, April 18 – 21, 2006 in Arlington, VA, outside of Washington, DC. Last year, we had over 500 attendees and a sold-out exhibit hall for this event. With 2006 being the year of electronic passports, FIPS 201 part 2 compliance deadlines, the expected launch of the DHS First Responder Program, and a new NIST certification GSA procurement program – it will surely be another great Alliance conference event. Until then, look for us at the Smart Card Alliance-sponsored smart card pavilions at Infosecurity 2005, New York in December and the 2006 RSA Conference, San Jose in February. There is still space available in both pavilions, but time is running out. Contact info@smartcardalliance.org for details. Also, we will be attending Cartes, the European smart card industry event, in November and many more events in the United States and Latin America in 2006.
In the months ahead, our many industry councils are busy planning new white papers, position documents, case studies, webinars, and other projects to continue the mission of accelerating the adoption of smart cards. As was reported by the joint Smart Card Alliance/Frost & Sullivan Americas Smart Card Market Analysis (www.frost.com), published in September, the industry predicts a 27% compound annual growth rate in North America and a 59% CAGR in Latin America through 2010. Every individual and member organization has a stake in realizing these estimates and the Smart Card Alliance will be there to open doors and shed light on the markets that will be adopting the technology. Now is the time to join the Alliance, get connected, be active, and make a difference!
Randy Vanderhoof, Executive Director
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