In a report on the video surveillance market, IMS Research has revised upwards its forecast for the network camera market
It points to faster than expected customer acceptance of this new technology. IMS now forecasts that the world network camera market will grow to exceed $1 billion by 2009.
IMS Research senior analyst Simon Harris said: "When IMS published its last report on this market two years ago there was a great deal of scepticism about network cameras, but this has passed and users are now ready to embrace the benefits of networked video surveillance. We see the network camera market growing strongly over the next few years as users upgrade their systems to take advantage of the latest technology."
The researchers cite other reasons for the upgraded forecast, including heightened awareness and availability of network cameras following what they call a flood of new product announcements during 2005. The limited choice of network camera models had previously been a barrier to growth, it is claimed, but potential customers now have a much wider selection of models from a greater number of suppliers.
There has also been a shift, the researchers add, in the product mix away from basic, low-end cameras in favour of professional, higher value products, such as megapixel network cameras and network dome cameras. The result is that network cameras are now suitable for use in the majority of surveillance applications.
IMS Research predicts that the next generation of network cameras will have embedded video content analysis capability to detect various behaviours or events. The first products are forecast to hit the market within the next 12 months.
