Having cornered the local market, biometric technology vendor Ideco sets its sights on Europe and the Middle East A BLACK-EMPOWERED company that in just five years has become a market leader in fingerprint-based biometric and access control systems in Southern Africa, has the European and Middle Eastern markets within its grasp.

Ideco Group is the primary distributor of the fingerprint technologies of electronics conglomerate Sagem, of France, and operates its sole licensed service and repair centre in the region.

"We want to be a substantial player in the market, a global market that by 2010 is forecast to be worth just under $7 billion," says CEO Vhonani Mufamadi.

"We decided from very early on that we are not off-the-shelf resellers of European technologies. We`ve set up very competent technical expertise - people who thrive on producing innovations based on time-tested technologies. We continue to work with the technology to produce practical innovations for the local and offshore market," he adds.

EXPANDING ITS FOOTPRINT

Last year it acquired access control solution provider Biometric Security, of Switzerland, and it is from this base that it intends to expand to Europe and the Middle East.

"What interested us in this company was its ten-year experience in access control products and systems, and its clientele in Europe and the Middle East. Combined with our drive to enlarge our technology offering, it won`t simply be a case of selling products we bought in Paris back to the market," observes Mufamadi.

The acquisition has already paid off, with Ideco just recently being signed on by a large global player, head-quartered in Switzerland, to supply it with a fingerprint access control system.

Ideco already has a wealth of public and private sector experience at home.

Currently its biggest project involves the digital conversion of some 30 million paper fingerprint records for the Department of Home Affairs. Completion by June will enable government to issue a national identification card containing the holder`s fingerprint, in theory eliminating fraud.

To date, some 20 million fingerprints have been digitised by Ideco`s team, comprising about 400 contract workers, who are based at a specially constructed facility at Home Affairs in Pretoria. It is a sophisticated fingerprint-digitisation operation that is reportedly the largest of its kind in the world. "In fact, the facility could be offered by government as a resource to other countries," explains Mufamadi.

Furthermore, Ideco has developed an automated fingerprint-based criminal background checking system for the South African Police Service (SAPS). Sagem technology has also been deployed by the Department of Transport for its driver`s license, while the paymasters dispensing social pensions on behalf of the Department of Social Development likewise make use of its technology.

Mufamadi expects "a lot more from government in the biometrics field in the future". Pending are the smartcard ID project, which has been in the pipeline for over a decade; and the e-passport rollout. Downstream opportunities will also arise from the installation of the automated fingerprint and other system at SAPS, Home Affairs and a number of other government departments and institutions, including the Integrated Justice System. (Ideco won tender 177 issued by Sita, for the supply and support of fingerprint image capturing devices and associated components, whereby all levels of government are empowered to buy from Ideco.)

Moreover, Ideco has sold fingerprint equipment and solutions in Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho, and is being drawn further into East and West Africa, he reports.

ACCESS CONTROL ON GROWTH PATH

In contrast with the large systems supplied to the public sector - the traditional user of fingerprint-based biometric systems for identification, Ideco`s fingerprint-based access control systems have been the source of most of its private sector revenue, with financial and legal services, mining, and the hospitality sector accounting for the largest demand. In this space its client base is serviced by a network of some 60 dealers. "Access control, though the more visible side of the business, accounts for a modest part of our revenue, but that share is growing," says Mufamadi.

"We are now extending our reach into the residential access control market." A very large system was recently installed at the multimillion-rand Midstream Estate in Midrand.

A new product aimed at the domestic market is the MorphoAccess100 fingerprint reader, suitable for integration into various domestic applications, such as front doors and alarm systems.

"Cost efficiencies have opened up a whole new world for the technology. Biometrics, traditionally the domain of government and industry, is filtering down into the domestic market," he remarks.

Another noteworthy private-sector development is Ideco becoming the first African licence partner for LEGIC Ident Systems, a leading Swiss-based global supplier of contactless smartcard technology for personal identification applications.

"We are the first in the world to integrate our biometrics with LEGIC technology. This has taken vision and a lot of investment, and we will be entering the blue-chip markets with our offering in a short while," reveals Mufamadi.

SA`s fingerprint-based biometrics market "is right up there with the top five markets", he maintains. "There has been greater acceptance and usage of the technology here than many other markets, such as Western Europe for example, so that we see tremendous scope for Ideco in a number of international markets."