TrendBiometric companies see government as the driver of future market growth

Announcements and actions taken by various biometric technology developers have suggested to those watching the biometric marketplace that the projected growth in that market could be driven by government spending, according to a Washington Post article (Marjorie Censer, “Contractors bullish on federal ID technology market,” 6 September 2010).

Among the various actions include developer MaxID’s announced move of their headquarters from California to Virginia and 3M’s announcement of planning to buy biometric developer Cogent, which also has offices near Washington.

Further, companies like MaxID do develop solutions for the commercial market, officials such as MaxID’s president Brian Skiba expect government sales to comprise roughly 75 percent of its revenue.

Third Factor reports that despite the expected success in working with both the U.S. government as well as other governments around the world, some analysts are still casting doubt as to whether or not the biometric market and other similar identity management technologies will grow as much as the projections are pointing to.

While many still agree that the marketplace for biometrics is likely to continue to grow, one of the bigger points of contention is that some are arguing that the growth will not be in United States but more likely in Central and South America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia.

Despite this, both the biometric companies and analysts are looking at government spending driving the marketplace in the short term with no real expectation for private industry to push growth very soon.