Big Brother is big business.

Global sales of video surveillance systems are expected to reach $41 billion in 2014, up from $19.4 billion this year, a nearly 15% compound annual growth rate, says ABI Research.

New technology is sparking the rise. Familiar closed-circuit analog video systems with grainy pictures, long used by banks and others, are giving way to more costly systems that rely on Internet standards to transmit data, often wirelessly.

Many of these newer video systems now use analytics software to detect meaningful patterns over many hours of surveillance. In this way, people don't need to constantly watch each screen.

Retailers and restaurant chains are among those most quickly adopting these new systems, to guard against theft and to help gauge the effectiveness of product displays.

"Once video surveillance gets embedded into business processes, it's probably there to stay," said Stan Schatt, wireless security practice director at ABI Research.

Security threats are driving growth. Since 9/11, many more cameras have been installed to monitor public spaces, shopping centers, airports and waterways.