Abstract
Security Concern on the Rise
The recent spree of terrorist attacks has emphasized the need for immediate
action in the security arena, both in governmental and private enterprises. In
the private sector, the need to communicate critical business information across
a wide network of users has made authentication a major cause of concern.
Currently, chip-cards that are capable of hosting multiple applications are the
strongest form of authentication available. These esmartf cards are
extremely cost effective, balancing initial costs with the highest security
architecture. Moreover, they have long life expectancy and can be easily
modified and upgraded.
This Frost & Sullivan research service examines the uptake for corporate
ID smart cards in both physical and logical access applications. It critically
evaluates the success of pilot programs that have incorporated this technology
and provides a comprehensive analysis of the revenue potential and growth
opportunities for different types of access control smart cards. Further,
regional analysis of the market helps identify key opportunities for market
penetration.
Governmental Projects Set the Example
As security continues to evolve as a key area of concern, most governments
are willing to invest extensively in it, especially in border-crossing security
systems. Eager to start a trend, many governments have played a pivotal role in
increasing the awareness and boosting the uptake for smart card-based access
control in the private sector. In many countries, smart cards have emerged as
the technology of choice, particularly for ID schemes.
"The U.S. Department of Defensefs (DoD's) common access card project
and subsequent pilots initiated by other federal agencies have proved to be
highly successful and the North American access control market is on the verge
of considerable growth," says the analyst. "These projects, which have
been spearheaded by the government, are likely to encourage other companies to
engage in similar efforts and the trend is expected to be sustained over the
short and medium term."
Support from Well-known Organizations
Smart cards are experiencing increased adoption with many companies around
the world that are looking to enhance the security and flexibility of their
employee ID programs. Boeing, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems are among the
large and well-known organizations that have shown support for chip-based or
smart card-based access control corporate IDs. | 
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