Electronic access control systems are one of the fastest growing sectors of the security industry. Though demand in industrial, residential, and commercial sectors has reached maturity, opportunities exist in the form of product replacements and security upgrade. Growing demand for heterogeneous technologies for security applications and RFID technology will also contribute to market expansion. Biometric solutions are fast making inroads since they enjoy an edge over conventional authentication solutions such as passwords, PINs, and tokens. The market for smart cards is also projected to grow especially in banking, mass transit, building, network security, and identification sectors.
    United States is the largest market worldwide, worth an estimated US$2.2 billion in 2007. Europe is the second largest regional market followed by a much smaller Asian market at third position. Europe and the US together account for over 80 percent of the global electronic access control systems market as stated by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. The global and regional markets are expected to grow at CAGRs ranging between 15% and 20%. Card Based electronic access, inclusive of among others, proximity and smart cards, represents the leading product segment, capturing over 65% share of value sales. The segment is expected to register sales of about US$3.5 billion by 2010. Biometrics-Based electronic access presents enormous opportunities for growth, with the Iris Recognition sub-segment set to witness fastest growth through 2010.