AFIS is best known for use by law enforcement agencies to compare prints and apprehend criminals. These days, a slightly different version of AFIS is used by companies to allow employees to gain access to their workplace. According to analysts at Technavio, the Americas dominate the global AFIS market, accounting for more than 39% of the total market share. They predict that the US will be the biggest market for AFIS technology in this region as AFIS is extensively used by law enforcement agencies here to apprehend criminals.

“One of the latest trends gaining prominence in the market is the evolution of touchless sensing technology. This technology generates 3D fingerprint scans, which do not cause slippage, deformation, or smearing of the fingerprint. 3D touchless fingerprint technology is interoperable with legacy devices to provide high-quality images. Moreover, a 3D fingerprint image provides a high-quality, large, nail-to-nail representation of the finger,” says Amrita Choudhury, Lead Analyst, ICT, Technavio Research

According to Technavio’s market research report, the civil application segment will be the largest market segment for AFIS technology during the forecast period. The extensive use of AFIS technology for commercial applications in the financial sector, point-of-sale systems, and ATMs will result in this market segment’s high growth over the next few years. Though the adoption of criminal AFIS will increase significantly during the forecast period, the civil AFIS segment will dominate this market by accounting for almost 56% of the total market share by 2020.

The research company has identified the leading vendors in the global AFIS market as 3M Cogent, M2sys Technology, NEC, and Safran. AFIS technology and the related technologies market are in their infancy. There are several large and small vendors competing to gain market share. There is a lot of potential in the market for new players, and many are expanding their portfolios to distinguish themselves from the rest. Technavio concludes that to survive, vendors will have to offer customised and unique products.