Biometrics is the future

SA has established unquestionably that fingerprint biometrics are the future for managing identity, as the country now has 60 000 scanners managing workplace access for about 2.5 million people.

So says Mark Eardely, channel manager at SuperVision Biometric Systems, who believes the country is taking a leading role in the world in terms of biometric usage.

According to a September 2010 study by Global Industry Analysts (GIA), the global biometrics market is forecast to reach $14 billion by 2015. It attributes the increase to terrorist attacks, plane hijackings and increasing crime rates.

GIA says the US dominates as the single largest worldwide market for biometrics. Europe and Asia-Pacific follow the lead at the second and third positions, respectively.

“The consolidated share of the US and European biometrics markets constitutes a sizeable chunk of over 60%. In terms of fastest pace, the Latin America and Asia-Pacific markets are projected to race ahead of the other world markets by the year 2015,” GIA notes.

Eardely claims the surge in the use of biometrics in SA has been spurred by the deployment of Morpho fingerprint scanners.

“For many years, Morpho has been the world's biggest-selling brand of fingerprint scanners and since around 2006, SA has been a major market for the brand.

“Given the fact that SA's workforce is so much smaller than those of the US and Europe, and that SA uses biometrics on a similar - if not larger scale - I'd suggest that our local usage is far higher than in the world's other two main biometric markets,” he says.

According to Eardely, there is every reason to believe that South African companies will leverage the lessons learnt within physical security and pioneer the use of biometrics to manage access to IT systems.

“Just as physical security has used fingerprints to replace cards, PINs and passwords to identify people, SA organisations will, this year, begin a widespread introduction of them into IT as a means to control and track who does what, where and when within corporate IT systems,” he says.

Eardely explains that the biometrics industry in SA is dominated by one major distributor, Ideco, which supplies the Safran Morpho range of fingerprint scanners through a reseller channel that includes Stanley Security Solutions and Business Connexion.

“Market share for the Morpho brand is probably 75%-plus of the total South African biometrics market. The rest of the local market is fragmented among other biometric brands such as Secugen, Suprema, Lumidigm and Bioscrypt.

“In terms of technology, fingerprint biometrics account for well over 90% of the market. Other technologies locally available include voice recognition as well as iris and retina scanners,” he says.

However, he adds that there are probably several hundreds of companies supplying biometrics in SA, ranging from the major access control providers to small security system installers.

Eardely explains that since around 2005, biometrics has been increasingly used to replace traditional access cards to manage physical security within the local workplace.

The technology, he explains, has two main applications within the local workplace. “Firstly, it is used to authenticate the identity of people so that physical access within the workplace can be limited to those who are duly authorised.

“Secondly, biometrics are used within workforce management solutions, typically to manage payroll by accurately recording workplace attendance and time worked.”

Overall, he points out that the rise of biometrics within SA has one main driver - the technology pays for itself by cutting the losses caused by unauthorised access and the abuse of clocking systems, for example buddy-clocking.

“In particular, the business case for fingerprint biometrics within physical security is well-proven. It all comes down to ROI: organisations save money by using fingerprint scanners to replace traditional access credentials like cards, PINs and passwords - all of which are routinely shared, stolen, lost and forgotten.”

Marius Coetzee, COO of Ideco Biometric Security Solutions, says experts within the field of biometrics believe the market has grown substantially, resulting in many more service providers operating in the South African market.

“While this is viewed as being a positive for corporate SA, decision-makers ought to exercise caution in selecting a biometric solution,” he urges.

Coetzee says the many advantages biometrics offer in terms of access control, physical and digital security could easily become the most significant operational frustration. “There are too many so-called 'large biometric companies' that promise the world and disappear when systems fail.

“Aside from the cost factor, there are many other considerations that should be taken into account. The primary selection criteria include reliability of systems, accuracy, durability and after-sales support,” says Coetzee.

He urges decision-makers to consult with companies that are experienced in integrating biometrics into security solutions - either for access control or time management.

“The use of biometrics within SA spans a diversity of environments, ranging from mines, factories and construction sites, to colleges, offices, residential estates and recreational facilities.

“Requirements for controlling access or time management do vary according to the environment, so it's obviously wise to select a service provider who is experienced in supplying and maintaining biometric-based solutions that address the specific nature and scale of the challenges you are facing,” says Coetzee.

He also believes it is important to be aware that not all biometric technologies are the same. “Although fingerprints are by far the most widely-used biometric methodology, different brands deliver different levels of performance.”

When choosing a fingerprint technology, he advises, it's important to look for consistently high levels of accurate identification.