Frost & Sullivan: Proliferating Security Concerns Trigger Growth Spike in the World EACS Market

July 26, 2011 - PRLog -- Singapore – The world electronic access control systems (EACS) market has been influenced largely by the increasing security concerns worldwide. The readiness to adopt technology to maintain security, both by governments as well as corporates, establishes the credibility of technologies such as smartcards and biometric readers in providing robust authenticating mechanisms. As such, EACS has become a vital element in building architecture.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, World EACS Market, finds that the market earned revenues of over US$2.0 billion in 2009 and estimates this to reach to over four times its size by 2016. While commercial end-users form the bulk of revenues currently, government is playing a key role in overall EACS market growth and is expected to be the biggest driver in the short to medium term.

“Governments worldwide have taken the much-needed initiative for large-scale adoption of EACS in national ID projects as well as e-passports,” says Frost & Sullivan Industry Manager Parul Oswal. “Large corporates have followed suit in upgrading their access control systems for ensuring physical as well as logical security.”

The primary threats have been vandalism, sabotage, break-in, and business-espionage. However, lately, the terrorist threats have manifested in the form of bombings and hostage situations. Critical infrastructure such as government agencies, military bases, financial institutions, power plants, water treatment plants, airports, and seaports are the most vulnerable targets.

Currently, physical security systems comprise different subsystems, such as video surveillance, access control, intrusion detection, fire and safety, time and attendance, visitor management, and asset tracking.

“Synchronizing and managing these systems would require communication between various systems, leading to upgrades, replacement, or installation of new access control systems,” says Oswal. “Establishments looking at integrated security systems are a small but growing percentage and would help drive the market for new electronic access control systems.”

Proximity cards and readers contribute the most to the total EACS market in terms of product uptake. Region-wise, the Americas are the largest market for EACS systems at the moment. However, the Asia Pacific market shows the greatest potential for future growth.

The main challenge for the overall EACS market is the lack of awareness among end-users, who have strong privacy concerns. Earlier, with the proximity cards, only a random ID number was stored on the card. However, with smartcards, even personal information such as phone numbers, residential address, social security number, bank account number can be stored for various transactions. While sensitive data is usually encrypted and difficult to extract from a stolen smartcard, its availability on an easily accessible asset is the main end-user concern.

The market is also dealing with the influx of low-cost products from China. Though these products are cost-effective, they are unreliable and provide and affect the credibility of the respective technologies among the users that adopted them.

The changing nature of threats and the move toward IP-based access control systems mandates that security companies keep themselves well informed on the latest technologies. They will need to consolidate resources, prepare for future needs by exploring new technologies, and intensify focus on high-growth verticals to optimize ROI. Safeguarding the interests of customers and reassuring them on the benefits of EACS products and services will bolster uptake.

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Donna Jeremiah, Corporate Communications, at djeremiah@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

World EACS Market is part of the Automatic Identification & Security Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: 360 Degree Perspective of the Asia Pacific Physical Security Market, Global  RFID  Market, Asia Pacific RFID Market, Asia Pacific Profiles of Local Industry Participants: Physical Security, among others. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

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World EACS Market
P493

Contact:
Donna Jeremiah
Corporate Communications – Asia Pacific
P: +603 6204 5832
F: +603 6201 7402
E: djeremiah@frost.com

Carrie Low
Corporate Communications – Asia Pacific
P: +603 6204 5910
F: +603 6201 7402
E: carrie.low@frost.com

http://www.frost.com

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Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's research and consulting services empower clients to generate, evaluate, and implement effective growth strategies.