According to a new report from IHS Markit, the global market for security equipment in the city surveillance sector has seen strong growth over the past several years, surpassing $3 billion in 2017. This impressive growth is expected to continue in the years ahead as the research firm predicts that the city surveillance market will grow at average rate of 14.6 percent from 2016 to 2021.
China was the largest market for city surveillance equipment in the world by far, accounting for two-thirds of global revenue. Additionally, IHS said that the country will also become the first to widely use facial recognition in city surveillance projects, with more than 10,000 smart cameras expected to be deployed in the city of Shenzhen in 2018.
In a research note, IHS Analyst Jacky Zhang said that state capitals and major cities have been a sustainable growth engine for the rapid development of the city surveillance market in recent years. Driven by national policies, state capitals are expected to continue supporting growth of the city surveillance market in the years ahead.
The primary focus of city surveillance systems, according to Zhang, is to help police forces maintain public safety and reduce crime. However, compared to other verticals, Zhang said city surveillance systems typically cover much larger areas. As a result, these systems face significantly more complicated risks and technical issues than other application scenarios.
System complexity, scale and use cases vary widely, depending on how much budget a city has available to invest in this type of technology. For example, Zhang said large events, such as the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics and the Expo 2010 Shanghai, led to sizeable investment and spurred major development of surveillance systems in those cities. If city budget cuts become necessary, reducing the size and sophistication of a surveillance project — or delaying installation — is often the action taken.
Provided sufficient funding for city surveillance projects is made available, Zhang said many advanced technologies can be deployed to aid the effectiveness of a deployment. For instance, the market has witnessed rapidly growing demand for video content analysis in city surveillance projects, especially facial recognition. In addition to developments in video content analysis, Zhang added that body-worn cameras and services for law enforcement are also increasing the market base for city surveillance equipment
