Frost: Global border control and biometrics market to reach $15.8B by 2021

According to Frost & Sullivan, the global border control and biometrics market is expected to expand steadily due to increased international cooperation on travel security issues. Frost's latest analysis, which encompassed military, law enforcement, government and security applications, found the market generated revenues of US$5,836.5 million in 2012, and the market is estimated to reach $15.8 billion in 2021. While the market offers immense growth potential, issues related to privacy and quantifiable ROI will need to be addressed.

Research Analyst Krzysztof Rutkowski noted that international collaboration is pressuring governments to implement electronic documents and readers, and has enabled airports and border control agencies to become more efficient in business-as-usual functions. Cost-effective electronic documents and supplementary e-gate technology enabling passengers to pass through immigration checkpoints without the need for human interaction are set to transform international travel. Revenues generated from e-passports will be augmented by sales of e-gates, which will be deployed at airports and other border crossings.

Western markets have implemented e-passports and are experimenting with e-gates, while other markets such as India and China are planning to implement e-passports in 2013. A majority of the projects in Europe are still in pilot phase, with 62.5 percent of the deployments using facial recognition as the main biometric technology. Russia has also expressed interest in biometrics and plans to improve identification through the deployment of the universal card to replace drivers licences, social security cards and other documents.

Budget constraints and privacy concerns, however, threaten the universal and swift adoption of biometrics; nevertheless, such challenges are expected to decrease in importance once the technology becomes cheaper and citizens become better educated about the benefits of biometrics, such as the convenience of the technology and ROI that can be achieved through the application of the technology, especially in the western markets.