According to a new report from IHS, the global market for electronic locks will exceed $1 billion in 2015. The research firm segments electronic locks into three categories: mechatronic, electromechanical and digital cylinder.
Of the three segments, IHS expects electromechanical locks will see the most uptake over the next five to eight years, representing nearly 77 percent of the total electronic lock market globally in 2015. In addition, IHS said that it expects the residential market in North America will be a driving factor over the next three to five years for electromechanical locks as more multi-system operators (cable and telecommunication providers) and traditional monitoring providers look to offer electronic locks not only as an ad hoc option but as part of its existing packages.
Although electromechanical locks will remain the largest segment of the market, IHS said that the most growth will be seen with mechatronic locks over the next five years. In fact, global unit shipments are expected to triple for mechatronic locks from 2014 through 2019. One of the reasons for this is due to the expected adoption of electronic security by utilities and telecommunications.
“Enhanced security, audit trails, compliance and efficiency are just a few of the reasons why these end-user industries are looking to electronic security. In remote environments, electronic locks can also be used to protect contractors and workers. If a door is propped open or a request to exit read does not occur after a predetermined amount of time, an alert can be generated,” wrote Blake Kozak, principal analyst for security and building technologies at IHS, in a research note.
By 2019, IHS forecasts that electronic locks will exceed the revenue of both the readers and panels market, making it the largest segment for electronic door access control.
“Similar to other trends occurring in the access control industry such as TCP/IP (IT integration), logical access control and open standards, suppliers and channel partners that embrace wireless lock integration with traditional wall readers will gain the most over the next five years,” wrote Kozak.
