Technavio notes trends in the mass transit security market

LONDON—Technavio, a market research firm based here, recently published a report that covers the mass transit security market from 2017 to 2021. Among the firm's predictions is that the Americas market share continues growing but ceases to be the largest market portion.

“In 2016, the Americas accounted for the largest share of the market with 40.10 percent share, followed by EMEA with 38.51 percent and APAC with 21.39 percent market share,” Amrita Choudhury, Technavio research analyst, told Security Systems News.

“By 2021 we expect that Americas will be close to 37 percent, EMEA 39 percent and APAC will be close to 23 percent market share. We expect the market share of the Americas to decline during the forecast period because of market saturation of mass transit security systems,” she continued.

Technavio valued the transit security market for the Americas at $4.05 billion in 2016, and projects it to rise to about $5.8 billion by 2021. The company valued the total global market at $10.96 billion in 2016, and said it will reach $15.57 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 9.04 percent.

There are a couple of key technologies that will influence the market over this time period. “Use of biometrics will be something that will be prominent,” Choudhury said. “Video Surveillance will be another technology that will be dominant in this sector, contributing to a 35 percent market share in 2016.”

Access control will be a key trend in the market, according to Choudhury. “We see access control being enforced by the government, the use of biometric access control to ensure the security of mass transit areas. In this type of access control, the electronic access control system is integrated with biometric technologies, such as iris recognition and voice recognition, which is used to monitor people and control access to secure locations.”

Mergers and acquisitions will also affect the market, she continued. “Vendors, such as NICE Systems and Tyco, have shown this trend, which is expected to continue in the future. Furthermore, with increased competition to provide integrated solutions, vendors that do not have a strong presence in the market are expected to increase their acquisition spree.” As examples, she pointed to Honeywell Security and Fire's acquisition of RSI Video Technologies, Battery Ventures' purchase of Qognify and when Axis Communication's bought Citilog.

The market will be driven by a growing need for public safety and additional investments made in infrastructure development, said Choudhury. “High initial investment” could be a market challenge, she said.

Choudhury also underlined the infrastructure security component within the mass transit security market, which includes “fire security systems, intrusion prevention systems, and visitor management systems that include products such as alarms, video surveillance cameras, and visitors screening systems.” This market portion was valued at “$5.63 billion for 2016 and will reach close to $8.6 billion by 2021 with a CAGR of 8.8 percent,” she said.