Boom times ahead for ID solutions

U.S. government organizations looking to improve their identification and access management capabilities will drive about $8 billion in identity initiatives over the next five years, according to a report published by Stanford Washington Research Group.

The international market for such initiatives will fuel another $14 billion in projects over the next five years, the report stated.

As government organizations look for more efficiency to identify, authenticate and grant access to people, they will push implementations that will incorporate biometrics, smart cards and radio frequency identification, the Washington research firm said.

Stanford Washington Research Group's report noted top-tier systems integrators that already have invested in the identity solutions market as the likely winners of the "bulk of sales from identity solutions projects."

Stanford Washington's report names Lockheed Martin Corp., General Dynamics Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., EDS Corp., Unisys Corp., Maximus Inc. and BearingPoint Inc. as the best-positioned systems integrators with solid project management and integration skills.

Companies with a wide range of identity technologies also are well positioned for the impending market boom, the report states. Stanford Washington named L-1 Identity Solutions (a combination of Viisage Technology Inc., Billerica, Mass., and Identix Inc. Minnetonka, Minn.) as the identity solutions leader.

Others solutions businesses in good standing include Cogent Systems Inc., South Pasadena, Calif. and Sagem Morpho Inc., Tacoma, Wash.

Some niche players to watch for include Imageware Systems Inc., San Diego and Precise Biometrics Inc., Vienna, Va., Stanford Washington said.

Among privately held companies, Cross Match Technologies Inc., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., is the leader, the report said.