Overview of the global military biometrics market

Technavio’s market research analyst predicts the global military biometrics market to grow at a CAGR of more than 7% between 2016 and 2020. The growing focus on surveillance and security across the world drives the demand for the biometrics market in the military sector. Biometrics technologies are widely used by the homeland security divisions of nations to identify individuals who want to enter a country. The frequently used technologies include facial and fingerprint recognition, palm recognition, and iris scanning. Recently, Artec technologies released MULTIEYE-Face, which is a new biometric image processing software for face recognition designed for security, criminological, and forensic applications. The military sector is also witnessing a high demand for voice biometrics for identification, verification, border control, and critical infrastructure protection. Manufacturers have come up with 3D face recognition biometric systems, which uses geometric depth data instead of color and texture of the image, irrespective of the lighting conditions.

One of the latest trends gaining traction in the market is the introduction of multimodal biometrics.  The demand for multimodal biometrics has been growing significantly in recent times with several security agencies using a combination of two or more biometric technologies for identification and authentication to obtain more precise outcomes. These biometric systems are more reliable as they can avoid spoofing attacks.  Several countries like Japan, the US, the UK, France, Germany, and Canada are using multimodal biometric systems for border security and other government identification and registration programs like national healthcare, voter registration, and e-passports.

Competitive landscape and key vendors

The global military biometrics market is highly competitive and to gain a competitive edge over their peers, vendors are focusing on global footprint network, product offerings, investment in R&D, and expanding their client base. Vendors in the market, both global and regional, compete in terms of cost, quality, reliability, and other services. Factors such as global economic recovery and rising investments in R&D have generated massive growth opportunities for the market players. Moreover, the growing adoption of biometric solutions in the military sector, especially during field operations, has prompted leading players like M2SYS and Safran to introduce portable and rugged biometric readers. Also, with the growing requirement for fingerprint recognition in mobile phones, several new vendors are expected to enter the market. The competitive scenario in the market is likely to increase in the coming years with the growth in product extensions, technological innovations, and increased number of mergers and acquisitions.

Leading vendors in the market are -

• 3M Cogent
• Crossmatch
• M2SYS Technology
• NEC
• Safran

Other prominent vendors in the military biometrics market include 4Gid, AGNITIO, Aware, BIO-key International, Corvus Integration, Fujitsu, Fulcrum Biometrics, Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, HID Global, Northrop Grumman, Precise Biometrics, Suprema, and Thales.

Segmentation by technology and analysis of the military biometrics market

• Fingerprint
• Facial
• Iris

The facial recognition technology segment accounted for the largest market share in 2015 and will continue its dominance in the coming years. The facial recognition biometrics are extensively used for border security and surveillance. The recent surge in terrorist activities and illegal immigration in countries has led to the increasing demand for better surveillance across country borders, which will boost the growth of facial recognition technologies. Several governments are increasing investments in installing surveillance cameras with facial recognition to identify potential criminals.

Geographical segmentation and analysis of the military biometrics market

• Americas
• APAC
• EMEA

The Americas dominated the global market and is expected to maintain its market position throughout the forecast period. Much of the market’s growth is driven by growing concerns over security, primarily in the US. The US government is making huge investments in the biometric technologies to further enhance their usage across agencies and for military-operated overseas missions like in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, countries like Canada and Mexico have started adopting biometric systems to gather the data of tourists coming to their countries and to identify any potential criminals.

 Key questions answered in the report include

• What will the market size and the growth rate be in 2020?
• What are the key factors driving the global military biometrics market?
• What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the global military biometrics market?
• What are the challenges to market growth?
• Who are the key vendors in the global military biometrics market?
• What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global military biometrics market?
• Trending factors influencing the market shares of the Americas, APAC, and EMEA.
• What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the global military biometrics market?

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