Year in Review: The Importance of Looking Back on Biometrics

“…it remains a critical matter to get as much accurate information as possible about how the industry is doing, where it’s headed, and how its leaders are thinking – and the best way to do that is through this year’s survey.”

The 2019 FindBiometrics Year in Review survey is now open, offering industry insiders, analysts, and enthusiasts the opportunity to make their voices heard concerning the most important questions facing the industry. As always, it’s expected to yield some fascinating insights into the perspectives of those who are most knowledgeable about biometrics; and for some hints about what to expect, it’s easy to take a look back at how the 2018 survey shook out.

Some of the results of that survey were pretty much what everyone expected. Facial recognition, for example, emerged as the most exciting modality of last year by a considerable margin, with fingerprint recognition being a close second so far as single modalities go. And it’s unlikely that many were surprised to see financial services emerge as the top sector for applications of biometric tech, given the frenzy of activity in that area in recent years.

Other results were harder to predict. It might have been reasonable to guess that most of those in the biometrics industry were comfortable with how their governments were using biometric technology, but then almost 30 percent of respondents said that in fact they were not comfortable with it. And an outsider might have expected more competitive hostility in such a booming market than was reflected in the 96 percent majority that said cooperation through partnerships and alliances is crucial for the industry.

On that note, it remains a critical matter to get as much accurate information as possible about how the industry is doing, where it’s headed, and how its leaders are thinking – and the best way to do that is through this year’s survey. It only takes a few minutes to complete, so if you are in the industry or an adjacent area, please take a moment to fill it out and add your take to the mix.