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Biometrics
is the measurement of unique, individual physiological or
behavioral characteristics, such as fingerprints, palm prints,
facial characteristics, iris and voice patterns, hand geometry
and handwriting pattern, that can be used to determine or
verify an individual’s identity. The biometrics industry
offers technology that digitally captures and encodes these
individual biometric characteristics and then compares that
uniquely personal characteristic against previously encoded
biometric data to determine or verify an individual’s
identity. Biometric technology provides improved accuracy and
security, convenience and cost-effectiveness compared to
traditional identification methodologies, thereby providing a
superior identity management system.
International
biometrics market is large, growing and evolving rapidly.
According to the International Biometric Group, or IBG, an
independent market research firm, the biometrics market is
estimated to be $3.0 billion in 2007, with the
fingerprint-related segment representing a majority of this
market. IBG projects the overall biometrics market to grow to
approximately $7.4 billion by 2012, representing a compound
annual growth rate, or CAGR, of approximately 20%.
More
stringent security requirements, an increasingly global
economy and more mobile populations have given rise to greater
demand for technologies that offer a reliable and efficient
means to verify identity. Security breaches and fraud
resulting from failures in identification of individuals can
result in significant harm.
Biometrics,
with its focus on uniquely individual characteristics,
addresses the limitations inherent in traditional
identification and authentication processes, such as paper
credentials, passwords, PIN codes and magnetic access cards.
Biometrics provides a dynamic solution for a broad range of
applications, including border management, national
identification programs, immigration control, identity theft
and critical infrastructure applications such as employee
verification, access control and information systems
protection. It is expected that government and commercial
entities will increasingly adopt biometric-enabled solutions
to address these limitations and vulnerabilities.
Governments
were the early adopters of biometrics and are currently the
primary customers for the industry. Many factors that can
contribute to growth of the biometrics industry are the
following:
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Rising
security concerns.
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Increased
government adoption.
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Emerging
standards.
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Growing
acceptance of biometrics.
Outlook
Outlook
for Biometric
technology
is positive due to;
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Introduction
of new products.
-
More
market acceptability.
-
Economic
viability.
-
Rising
awareness.
-
Its
more usability/benefits over other traditional
identification and authentication processes.
This
article reflects personal views of the author
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