by Shane Henson — May 8, 2013—Security budgets will likely be beefed up at businesses nationwide as a result of the recent bombing in Boston. However, even before this tragedy, facilities managers and security personnel said that the money allocated to security has been on the rise.
According to an end-user survey conducted by IMS Research, now part of IHS Inc., 45 percent claimed that their security budget had increased during 2012. In the survey of almost 200 representatives from end users of physical security equipment across North America, 44 percent said that their annual budget exceeded $100,000; another 20 percent exceeded $500,000 a year.
“It’s clear that end users are still feeling the risk to their facilities—and that means there’s plenty of opportunity for manufacturers of physical security equipment,” said Niall Jenkins, manager for video surveillance and security services research at IHS. “Just having a budget available was actually one of the top two reasons for end users paying to replace or upgrade their systems, as well.”
The survey, completed primarily at the end user management level, solidifies trends seen in many IHS studies over the last 12 months. “We’ve been interviewing physical security equipment manufacturers since 2003, and while growth has slowed in recent years, they are still seeing growth across the different physical security markets,” remarked Jenkins.
Even so, unlocking budgets while also satisfying end users isn’t without its troubles for manufacturers, notes IMS. One important concern noted by survey respondents was that technology advancements meant that the equipment consumers bought became unsupported too soon by manufacturers. What is clear is that with the appropriate product and proper support, a growing security equipment market for end users still exists.
“Budgets either stayed the same or increased last year for those that spent approximately $200,000 and also for 85 percent of the overall market,” Jenkins noted. “I wouldn’t say that the security boom is over just yet.”
