Introduction
A few days ago, I saw an enthusiastic advertisement about the great new offer from PTCL: Get your Evo or Charji device biometrically verified - who knows, you may be paying around 2K a month for a felon who stole your device & is currently watching porn at your expense & you wouldn't even notice the drain on your resources! How dare he or she! All it takes is your finger to prevent this horror from happening!
After I finished feeling great about yet another errand in my already-busy schedule, I got to thinking about the biometric security industry. One thing is certain, the Pakistani authorities are head-over-heels about the technology, so it is reasonable to assume that the companies in this industry are set for a further profit boost in 2016.
If that is the case, it means that prospective investors need to get acquainted with the biometric security industry as soon as possible. This week's edition of The Green Town Investor is a primer on what the industry does, accompanied by a "Who's Who" of the companies most likely to make money by riding the biometric wave in Pakistan.
The Nature & History Of Biometrics
Biometrics is the name of a specialized field of metrics linked to human characteristics. Biometrics authentication is used in computer science as a form of identification & access control, as well as to identify individuals in groups that are under surveillance.
Biometric identifiers are the distinctive, measurable characteristics used to label & describe individual subjects or targets. Biometric identifiers are often categorized as physiological versus behavioral characteristics. Physiological characteristics are related to the shape of the body. Examples include, but are not limited to fingerprints, palm veins, facial recognition, DNA, palm prints, hand geometry, iris recognition, retina & odor/scent. Behavioral characteristics are related to the pattern of behavior of a person, including but not limited to typing rhythm, gait & voice. Some researchers have coined the term "Behaviometrics" to describe the latter class of biometrics.
Cataloguing of fingerprints dates back to 1891 when Juan Vucetich started fingerprinting criminals in Argentina. Josh Ellenbogen & Nitzan Lebovic argued that Biometrics originated in the identificatory systems of criminal activity developed by Alphonse Bertillon (1853–1914) & developed by Francis Galton's theory of fingerprints & physiognomy. According to Lebovic, Galton's work "led to the application of mathematical models to fingerprints, phrenology & facial characteristics", as part of "absolute identification" & "a key to both inclusion & exclusion" of populations. Accordingly, biometrics is a form of "soft control". The theoretician David Lyon showed that during the past two decades biometric systems have penetrated the civilian market & blurred the lines between governmental forms of control & private corporate control.
ABI Research says overall revenues for the biometrics market are expected to hit US$13.8 billion in 2015. The majority of revenues in most biometric recognition technologies are still coming from governmental entities, ABI notes. But due to increased consumer acceptance of biometric tools, consumer & enterprise segments are predicted to catch up with governmental spending in late 2017, becoming the dominant portion of the market.
Top Ten Mobile Biometrics Companies (Courtesy www.technavio.com)
1. 3M Cogent
3M Cogent is a leading biometric identification solutions provider to governments, & legal & commercial enterprises. The company provides the highest quality identification systems, products, & services with the leading technology, speed, & accuracy at over 99.9%. The products offered by 3M Cogent are used for biometric access control, passenger check-in, product security & border management. It has partnership networks with the leading companies from different domains, such as Accenture, BlackBerry, Lockheed Martin, Siemens, Northrop Grumman & Sun Microsystems. The company offers a wide product portfolio, which includes facial identification management solutions, biometric enrolment solutions, mobile identification solutions, fingerprint/palm print card conversion systems, mobile identification products, physical access control solutions, ID management & credentialing solutions, & logical access control solutions.
2. Apple
Authentec was acquired by Apple in 2012. The company is a global leader in the designing & manufacturing of mobile devices, software, PCs & mobile communication. It has a wide range of product offerings such as iPhone, iPad, Mac, iTunes, Software & Services, Accessories & iPod segments. It offers its own operating systems, iOS & OS X, various application software services including iWork & iLife, & Apple TV. It was the first company to launch fingerprint recognition technology in smartphones, which is now being followed by other mobile device vendors such as Samsung, HTC & Motorola.
3. Fujitsu
Fujitsu is one of the largest IT services providers with the majority of its revenue being drawn from the APAC region. The company carries on its operations in three segments; Industry Solutions; Business & Technology Solutions; & Fujitsu Cloud. Fujitsu provides a wide range of products to its customers such as computing products, software, network & electronic devices. The company is known for its PalmSecure product, a hand geometry biometrics solution. This biometrics technology is witnessing slow growth. PalmSecure has an extremely low FRR of 0.01% & an FAR of less than 0.00008%.
4. NEC
NEC is a global leader in the integration of IT & network technologies. The company delivers tailored solutions in the key fields of computer, networking & electronic devices. It has a very strong presence & acceptance in the APAC region. The company operates in five major segments: Public, Enterprise, Telecom Carrier, System Platform, & Others. NEC has more than 1,000 customers in over 30 countries worldwide & operates in more than 140 countries. The company focuses on innovations in information & communication technology. Its R&D domains include knowledge discovery, cloud system, smart energy, information & media processing, green platforms & innovations in computers & communications.
5. BioEnable Technologies
BioEnable Technologies Pvt. Ltd. is a leading Indian company working in the field of advanced electronic identification, automation & tracking products & services. Founded in year 2001, it has over 100 employees & customers in over 50 countries worldwide. It designs & develops innovative products based on a complex set of technologies. This has brought the experience to work on a wide range of platforms like Web, mobile, desktop & embedded. It is possibly the only company worldwide with the ability to understand its customers' requirements & then design both hardware & software on a wide range of platforms for identification, automation & tracking applications.
6. ImageWare Systems
ImageWare Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of identity management solutions driven by multi-modal biometrics. It delivers multi-modal biometric identity management solutions for user authentication on premises & in the cloud. Its patented, agnostic, plug-n-play technology promotes interactive communication & Out-Of-Band Authentication on mobile platforms & brings security to a new level. Its innovative products, such as GoCloudID & GoMobile Interactive, enable modular, flexible, & scalable identity solutions across a variety of markets, including mobile, wireless, financial services & healthcare. ImageWare’s identity management system allows customers to easily add a secure layer of biometric authentication to a variety of platforms & services.
7. M2SYS
With over a decade of experience & millions of end users in more than 100 countries worldwide, M2SYS Technology delivers innovative, scalable & practical identity management solutions that increase security & convenience while saving money, building accountability & establishing trust for governments & businesses around the world. The company continues to innovate, build & deliver leading-edge enterprise biometric solutions that transform the industry & expand the applicability of biometric technology in the marketplace. M2SYS has been recognized for numerous industry accolades, including Frost & Sullivan’s 2007 North American Biometrics Technology Innovation of the Year, the 2011 New Product Innovation Award, & the Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce 2014 Global Impact Award for Innovation.
8. Mobbeel
Mobbeel is a young startup (July 2009) but it has been created by experienced founders & advisors. The technology it offers however has been under development since early 2008. The team is formed by brilliant engineers with extensive experience developing complex software for IT consulting companies such as IBM or Indra (the largest Spanish IT consulting firm). All of them have complemented their technical knowledge with management skills & experience (project planning, conflict resolution & team leading) & have received numerous awards from their respective companies for their commitment, performance & innovation.
9. Precise Biometrics
Precise Biometrics is a market-leading provider of solutions for fingerprint recognition to prove people's identities. With top-of-the-line expertise in fingerprint verification, Precise Biometrics offers fast, accurate & secure authentication of a person.The technology adds value to ID, enterprise & bank cards as well as access to mobile solutions (smartphones & tablets), computers & networks. Precise Biometrics serves business & government organizations throughout the world & its technology is licensed to close to 160 million users.
10. S.I.C Biometrics
Business reality has changed dramatically over the last decade with the rise of the Mobile Workforce & the increasing complexity of IT infrastructure spreading its wings on the Cloud. Since 2009, S.I.C. Biometrics has developed innovative Fingerprint Biometric technologies for commercial mobile devices to help organizations monitoring personnel’s movement, enabling easy & secure data access & facilitating personnel’s identification; thus, greatly enhancing security both of the premises & of IT assets. S.I.C.’s Biometric Identity Authentication Management solutions can help organizations in meeting these new challenges; adding security, convenience & productivity to their operations.
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