According to International Data Corporation (IDC), European companies will spend $3,3-billion in biometrics in 2022, growing 20% versus last year. Spending in biometrics will expand in the years to come and reach $6,1-billion by 2026, at an 18% five-year CAGR, 2021-2026.
IDC’s European Human Augmentation Forecast, 2021-2026: How AR/VR, Biometrics, Wearables, and Other Augmentation Techs Will Elevate Human Skills and Transform Businesses shows that investments in biometrics solutions in the next year will be driven by a strong need to improve employee experiences and bring innovation to the workplace.
Most European companies will use fingerprint, facial, and voice recognition, which will remain most popular forms of authentication and identification. Only a limited number of European organisations will use gait analysis, keystroke dynamics, hand geometry, or iris/eye scanning, the types of biometric solutions that remain localized in specific settings.
Although biometrics solutions face a lot of challenges, including privacy, security, and bias concerns, IDC’s Emerging Technology Survey 2021 showed that 59% of European companies will be using biometrics solutions by 2023.
European companies use the tech to strengthen security and manage employees in automated ways. Facility access control, employee authentication for data access, and employee time and attendance management will be the most popular biometric use cases. Finance will lead the way in terms of projected adoption, with most investments taking place to tackle cyber security, physical security, and regulatory compliance.
“Workplaces are transforming, and focusing on biometrics solutions that drive innovation, employee experience, and facility security will be key to ensure European businesses run smoothly,” says Andrea Minonne, research manager and lead of human augmentation research at IDC. “The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have bypassed security concerns and have highlighted how biometrics can deliver extraordinary outcomes and bring positive impacts on business and society.”