Growth in the UK access control market slowed last year, but the overall market grew by 3.8 per cent in 2001, report market analysts Key Note.
Analysts at Key Note report a more widespread use of biometric solutions: ?Although high-security sites still account for most [biometrics] demand, the customer base has spread to medium-security applications, and even to sites such as schools. Prices have fallen and are still falling.?
Other trends include availability of easy-to-use Windows-based security-management software, prompting networked access-control systems? and more use of contactless smart cards, which will eventually erode sales of proximity systems, Key Note claim. To support this, the report says: ?Demand is starting to come from the educational sector, to allow cashless canteen payment and library use, etc. Demand is also from the information technology (IT) industry and from call centres, which are starting to use smart cards to control logging on to computers. The price of contactless smart cards and readers fell rapidly between 1998 and 2001. While still more expensive than proximity systems, the differential of contactless smart cards has narrowed.?
The report estimates the value of the UK access-control market in 2001 was œ220m, at current end-user prices. In 2000, the 28 access control members of the BSIA had a turnover of œ150m.
Sectors covered in the report include audio- and video-entry systems, biometric systems, card access systems, keypad systems, proximity systems and long-range and hands-free systems.
Access Control 2002 Market Report (ISBN 1-84168-282-9) covers market size; industry background; competitor analysis; strengths and weaknesses; buying behaviour; outside suppliers to the industry; forecasts; and profiles of manufacturers Abloy Security; Assa; Bell Group; Bewator Group; Cardkey; Group 4 Technology; Kaba (UK); Newmark Technology; PAC International; Paxton Access; Sensormatic; and TDSi. The report is available on 020 8481 8750, priced œ340. See www.keynote.co.uk.
