Read My Lips: Biometrics Ramp-Up
Los Gatos, Calif.-based Identix, for example, has delivered its Live Scan TouchPrint system to several airports, including Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, for rapid employee background checks and identity verification. The system uses biometric technology to analyze fingerprints.
"We're getting four to five times the customer phone calls since Sept. 11," says Identix spokesman Damon Wright. "There's a need for absolute on-site identification and authentication today."
Visionics, a biometrics vendor based in Jersey City, N.J., has also won several airport customers with its FingerPrinter CMS product line. In addition, Visionics has deployed its Facelt Face Recognition Technology at several government agencies from West Virginia to England. (Of note, Identix and Visionics are expected to merge by the end of next quarter.)
Technology giants, such as Compaq, Dell, EDS and Toshiba, are following the trend and integrating, reselling and deploying biometric systems. Wright says Identix plans to expand its partner ranks to help deployment and integration, a formidable hurdle considering the technology is new and many customers, especially in government and airline sectors, are using older, outdated systems. Solution providers, such as Evive, are filling the demand for integrated, industry-specific biometric solutions. Evive, based in Bethesda, Md., was formed a year ago and has partnered with both Identix and Visionics. It focuses on providing integration, training, support and monitored security services around their biometric products.
"We've seen the technology get to the point where it works and is a viable solution, but the delivery system to the customer isn't quite there yet," says Jonathan Eisner, founder and CEO of Evive. "We take the technology and make turnkey biometric solutions for the customers."
Solution providers, especially those specializing in managed security services, will play a crucial role in the adoption of this emerging technology. Customers will need monitoring and support services for biometric security systems that are available around the clock. Without such support, vertical markets may shy away from biometrics. Managed services and support also represent a steady revenue stream for VARs. In addition to government and airports, Eisner says universities, health-care firms, hospitals, and even corporate offices are growing markets for biometric security.
"They're spending money on this technology because they need better security and they don't like key cards and items that get lost or can be forged," Eisner says. "Biometrics is the future of how we get in and out of virtually everywhere we go."
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