84% of organisations to deploy advanced video technologies over next 24 months

Europe and UAE will see a surge in deployment of advanced video technologies, according to new research conducted by the global market intelligence firm IDC and sponsored by Milestone Systems.*

The research revealed key findings including industry plans, challenges, and opportunities for video technology investments.

Technology developments in artificial intelligence, image processing, cloud computing, and sensors are rapidly expanding organisations’ application of video and sensor technology and the business outcomes they deliver. 

“Video technologies are moving from a pure ‘insurance’ and security purpose to a real business differentiator, e.g., in citizen service, product quality, patient care, and customer experience,” said Malou Toft, VP EMEA, Milestone Systems.

Key findings

• Over the next 24 months, the majority (84%) of European and UAE organizations plan to deploy advanced video technologies, such as video analytics and sensor information. 
• 26% of the organizations plan to establish a video technology platform centrally, which would be connected to other systems.
• Organisations around the globe expected to spend $2.0 Billion in 2021 in Video Surveillance Analytics (source: Worldwide Video Surveillance Analytics Forecast, 2021–2025, IDC #US47835921, June 2021). 
• Transport & Logistics and Critical Infrastructure show the most advanced level of maturity in terms of Video Technologies usage.
• Among the key capabilities required over the next three to five years, buyers highlighted process automation, facial recognition, smart analytics, artificial intelligence, and centralised cloud-driven deployment (source: Worldwide Video Surveillance Analytics Forecast, 2021–2025, IDC #US47835921, June 2021).

“Bottom line is that businesses and public institutions are actively planning for and expecting new technologies to be deployed with video analytics solutions, to enable a wider set of advanced use cases to be delivered. These new use cases can help enterprises deliver new digital experiences, generate digital revenues, or drive greater operational efficiencies and ultimately remain competitive in the new digital economy,” said Bo Lykkegaard, Associate VP, European Software Research, IDC Europe. 

When it comes to Video Technologies investments and plans, three key stakeholders hold the helm: Security, Technology, and Operations Leads.

When asked about business challenges related to video technologies, two challenges rose above all others: 1) privacy protection and 2) security compliance concerns. 

So, while the surveyed organisations appear to have plenty of planned video technology projects with business cases in place these projects are inhibited by concerns of possible missteps in terms of privacy and security.

“It demonstrates that privacy and security risk mitigation should always be key activities when building a business case to apply advanced video technologies. Organisations should be careful to choose the technology and service providers who adhere to the highest cybersecurity and privacy protection standards,” said Malou Toft, EMEA VP at Milestone Systems. 

* IDC White Paper, sponsored by Milestone Systems, Unlocking a Videoempowered new next, doc #EUR148161021, September 2021

Survey Methodology

The study is based on existing IDC research, including IDC Digital Transformation and Software research, data from IDC's Worldwide Spending Guides, and buyer and vendor conversations. IDC also carried out a dedicated Video Technologies survey interviewing C-suites in 320 UAE and European organisations across four industries: Government, Healthcare, Critical Infrastructure and Transportation.