Frost & Sullivan: Need for New Products in Emerging Regions Increases Adoption Rates of Biometric Technology

Frost & Sullivan stated that the advancement of Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) is key to increasing the utilization of biometrics in law enforcement, and that the in-house development of AFIS, along with extended lifecycles and reduced maintenance costs, will play a decisive role in the use of the technology.

According to the analysis report "Enforcing the Law Using Biometrics" released by Frost & Sullivan Korea, market revenue was $838 million in 2014 and is projected to reach $1.129 billion in 2021. The report covers LiveScan, Mobile ID, and AFIS.

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Growing concerns about domestic terrorism are cited as a major factor driving the increased use of biometric technology in law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies can utilize the latest technologies to deny anonymity to fraudsters, terrorists, and criminals in order to control attacks. Relevant agencies can obtain knowledge and information to identify criminals quickly and accurately.

Ram Ravi, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said, “In major economies, the biometric market is being strengthened by the need for system maintenance, whereas in emerging economies, the introduction of new products will be the key factor boosting biometric market growth,” adding, “Biometric technology companies must prove their capabilities and build a solid brand reputation to be in a favorable position for bidding.”

However, the limited budget allocated to new biometric technologies is a concern for companies. This is because larger funds are allocated to more important projects, such as national growth and security. Furthermore, the bleak global economic outlook will make government agencies even more reluctant to spend budgets on new biometric technologies or reforms.

Researcher Ravi stated, “One way to address tight defense budgets is to drastically lower the price of biometric systems. This, in turn, will reinforce the importance of middleware and services in addition to hardware.”

Middleware and software vendors will work to improve biometric algorithms to increase accuracy in order to seize upcoming opportunities.