Prologue: a glance at the marketAnalysts see growth in the fingerprint biometrics sector

This should not surprise anyone, but a new report by American research firm Frost and Sullivan projects tremendous growth in the fingerprint biometrics industry, with the market expanding from $190 million in 2004 to over $3 billion in 2011. The study examined only non-Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS), which is to say, those used for network and physical access rather than those used by law enforcement to identify criminals. With a compound annual growth rate of 48 percent, non-AFIS fingerprint biometrics is one of the biggest security success stories yet.

Much of the increase, the report says, will come from the laptop and mobile phone markets, where customers are becoming increasingly comfortable, maybe even desirous, of simple yet effective security solutions. Recent reports have highlighted the privacy dangers of lost Blackberrys and other mobile devices, and newer products on the market in Asia now require a finger scan instead of a keylock. Users find this more convenient, too, due to the vast number of combinations modern man is forced to recall on a daily basis.

The report also mentions something we have been hinting at for months: the growing concentration of firms in the fingerprint biometrics markets. Three vendors now control more than 20 percent of the market, and the percentage is certain to increase. Among those leading in the silicon-based market (for mobile phones) are AuthenTec, UPEK, and Atmel. Leading companies in the optical scanner market (for access control and laptop security) are optical Bioscrypt, Sagem Morpho and Digital Persona. All except Sagem Morpho are American companies.

-read more in this Card Technology report