IMS: Boston bombing likely to boost video surveillance spending

WELLINGBOROUGH, England—The Boston Marathon bombing will likely drive increased spending on video surveillance equipment, a market that had already been projected to more than double through 2016, according to IMS Research.

The company, now part of IHS, is in the process of updating its most recent forecast of global demand for video surveillance equipment. Current IMS projections show worldwide revenue in the market rising to $20.5 billion in 2016, a 114 percent increase from the $9.6 billion that was spent in 2010.

Paul Everett, senior manager of video surveillance for IHS, said it is still too early to tell how the attack will affect immediate demand, but additional long-term gains are likely.

“What we have seen historically is that with global events such as this, there is normally a response and a spike in demand,” he told Security Systems News. “This was certainly seen in the transportation sector following 9/11 and the London bombings [in 2005].”

Government spending will likely pace the new growth, IMS said, with the continued migration from analog to IP equipment contributing to it. By 2014, IMS predicts that the world market for network video surveillance will reach $7 billion, surpassing analog at $6.5 billion.

Everett said he expects municipal demand for network surveillance systems to exceed what was predicted by IMS last year.

“In our 2012 CCTV and video surveillance research report, we estimated a CAGR [from 2011-2016] of 31.8 percent worldwide for network video surveillance equipment used in city surveillance projects,” he said. “For the Americas, this number equated to 26.7 percent, the fastest-growing vertical.”