Homeland security market ‘remains strong’ in 2010, says Frost & Sullivan

The Homeland Security (HLS) market has continued its rapid growth in spite of the global economic slowdown, and is expected to “remain strong” in 2010, according to research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

In the U.S., the Department of Defense’s latest homeland security budget has grown by 6.2 percent from the year 2008-2009, F&S finds.

"The Global HLS market is expected to be around $50 billion in 2010, with the United States remaining the largest civil security market in the world," according to analyst Kunal Sinha, Frost & Sullivan's Asia Pacific consultant of aerospace and defense practice. "The perceived and the real threat of terrorism continues to be the key driver of the Homeland security market. Global terrorist activities have been growing dramatically since 2000, after a relative lull between the years 1990-2000."

According to the F&S analyst, the global HLS market is expected to be around $50 billion in 2010, with the U.S. still the leading security market in the world.

The F&S 2010 prediction is that “spending for sensors and systems integration will increase in the US. In Latin America, the growing crime rate, continuing cross-border incursions and vulnerable foreign oil companies will drive the civil security market. In the UK, the upcoming Olympic Games and vulnerable mass transport will keep the civil security market buoyant. In the Middle East region, growing terrorist activities and the protection of critical infrastructure like the petroleum complexes will ensure sufficient business for the HLS companies.”

But the greatest “growth opportunity” for HLS spending is in the Asia Pacific region, Sinha says, which accounts for “almost” 21 percent of the global HLS spend.

"In the Asia Pacific region, airport security and first-responder services offer the maximum opportunity for growth,” according to Sinha, with China, Japan and India the leading growth engines in the region.