A Cascade of IP Growth
- By Ralph C Jensen
- Jun 01, 2009
The strength of the IP video surveillance niche seems
to be waning some based on earlier forecasts. At least
IMS Research seems to think that is the case.
While the forecasts are expected to improve, it will be less than originally thought, the research
firm indicated.
IMS’ November 2008 research forecast that analog would grow by 5 percent and network
video surveillance would boom by 34 percent in 2009. Lately, however, recent economic data
suggests that the global economic recession will be deeper and longer than previously thought.
IMS said the weaker growth in other commercial markets will impact growth not only for the
IP video surveillance markets, but also in the analog world.
“No one is disputing that these are far more difficult times than the industry has
experienced in recent memory,” said market research analyst Alastair Hayfield.
“However, the market is proving to be far more resilient to the recession than most
other industries. We expect the market to remain soft throughout 2009, and it will
likely take until next year for the market to pick up.”
Many manufacturers of IP cameras agree with the IMS information. For instance,
Fredrik Nilsson, general manager of Axis Communications, said the “growth of the
overall security and surveillance market is impacted by the global recession, and the
growth of IP network is down,” but he was quick to point out that it is still growing
at a healthy pace.
“The growing demand for truly integrated systems continues to gain traction
across the industry based on the inherent benefit of networked systems to
deliver greater interoperability between previously disparate systems,” said J.M.
Allain, president of Panasonic System Solutions Co. He said vertical markets affected
include video surveillance, access control, visitor management and
various facility-based systems, such as point of sale, but the industry has a new
spirit of cooperation to achieve open interoperability.
Scott Schafer of Arecont Vision said that IP camera and recording technology will continue to
show good growth this year. The megapixel camera market is expected to be even higher because
this technology is becoming the defacto standard for digital capture, movement and storage.
The analog market is flat, but it still owns about 85 percent market share and, on some
fronts, is declining. These facts are supported by layoffs at a number of companies focusing
on analog video.
The IP video surveillance market has its roots firmly planted in a few vertical markets,
including education and government, though retail and banking seem less focused, and both are
predominantly analog verticals. Retail and banking are more seriously hit by the recession as
well. The stronger markets, education and government, have the strength and footing to push
the IP video market along and as the stimulus package begins to trickle down, IP video will
begin to cascade.
This article originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Network-Centric Security.
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is editor-in-chief of Security Products magazine.