International. With a third year of strong growth, the global market for professional video surveillance equipment will expand by 9.3 percent in 2019, driven by strong demand for improvements in security, public safety and business intelligence, according to the latest report by analyst IHS Markit.
Global market revenue will reach $19.9 billion in 2019, up from $18.2 billion in 2018, according to IHS Markit Video Surveillance Intelligence Service. This year's strong performance follows growth of 9.3 percent in 2017 and an expansion of 8.7 percent in 2018. This three-year growth comes after weaker growth of 3.9 percent in 2016 and 1.9 percent in 2015.
"The recent growth of the professional video surveillance equipment market reflects the continued high spending on security in the public and private sectors," said Jon Cropley, senior principal analyst for video surveillance at IHS Markit. "On the public side, governments are investing in video surveillance equipment to improve citizen security and equip smart city projects. In the private sector, companies are adding video surveillance equipment to fight crime and bring together new types of business intelligence."
In addition to various types of cameras, the professional video surveillance equipment market includes a range of other products, such as recorders, analysis devices, and video management software.
Rise of China's Surveillance Market
China is driving the expansion of the global market for professional video surveillance equipment. In 2018, the country accounted for nearly half of the global business, accounting for 45 percent of global revenue. China's market expanded by an impressive 13.5 percent last year. Excluding China, the global market grew by only 5 percent.
"An important factor driving China's higher growth is the government's Xue Liang program, which promotes investment in both city surveillance projects and the extension of city surveillance systems to surrounding rural areas," Cropley said. "The Xue Liang program is forecast to conclude in 2020, which will cause China's growth to slow after that year. However, in the meantime, Xue Liang will continue to generate strong growth for the Chinese and global surveillance equipment markets."
Surveillance is concentrated
Although still very fragmented compared to many other markets, the supply base of professional video surveillance equipment is becoming increasingly concentrated. The top 15 suppliers accounted for 65 percent of global revenue in 2018, up from 52 percent in 2014.
The surveillance market is also shifting towards the use of network cameras, which are cameras that have their own Internet Protocol (IP) address and built-in wired or wireless network capabilities. A total of 70 percent of all security cameras shipped in 2018 were network cameras.
At the same time, global shipments of cameras known as analog HD cameras, fell in 2018.
Source: IHS Markit.
