After Boston, Spending on Video Surveillance Expected to Surge

Video surveillance, a market already on an upward trajectory, is expected to receive a big boost in spending following the bombings in Boston.

The market for video surveillance equipment was already forecast to grow to $20.5 billion in revenue in 2016, up 114 percent from 2010’s revenue of $9.6 billion, according to IHS, an analytics research company. But IHS says it is recalculating its forecast to account for the Boston Marathon bombings.

IHS says high-profile terrorist attacks have historically driven governments to increase spending on video surveillance equipment, and the same is expected following the Boston bombings, in which surveillance cameras played a key role in the investigation.

“While it’s too early to tell exactly what impact the Boston bombing will have, past events – like 9/11 and the London Underground bombings – have led to increased government spending on video surveillance for public spaces, particularly in the transport sector,” Paul Everett, an IHS senior manager, said in a statement.

IHS had anticipated under $15 billion in spending on video surveillance in 2013 and more than $15 billion in 2014, but those forecasts are being recalculated and are expected to go up.

Before the bombings, growth in the market was being driven by a transition from analog technologies to network-based security systems.