Video analytics is the processing and analysis of visual data (images or videos). When artificial intelligence is used to extract information from the data, it is referred to as intelligent video analytics or computer vision, although video analytics is often still used as a shorthand.
Video analytics stands out as a huge opportunity. It has the potential to be a killer application for edge computing, due to:
The large and growing market – In 2021 there were an estimated one billion surveillance cameras operational around the world. With the number of cameras predicted to grow by 20% in the period 2017-2024, AI and analytics will become increasingly important to capture value from the wealth of video footage being collected each day.
The ability for edge computing to grow the market – Without edge computing, video analytics is hindered by challenges with data sovereignty, and the cost of sending high-bandwidth data to the cloud (a problem that is heightened as video streams increase in quality). Edge computing therefore plays a key role in enabling video analytics, including more advanced AI/ML-enabled analytics, in a cost-effective way.
Its relevance to almost all industries – Video analytics can address a wide variety of use cases, from understanding consumer habits in retail, to analysing how football players kick a ball. In the case of video analytics for security, it is relevant across virtually all industries – education, transport, manufacturing, the list goes on.
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The market for edge-enabled video analytics will be worth $75bn by 2030
Video analytics is a huge application for private 5G and edge computing, accounting for a quarter of edge revenues in 2021 (topped only by cloud gaming). In 2021 the edge-enabled video analytics market was worth over $5 billion globally. This is predicted to grow to $75 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 34%.
There are many application areas for video analytics, of which three are shown in the figure above. Of the three, video ingest and analysis for security and surveillance is the biggest short-term opportunity, representing an estimated 21% of the total edge computing market in 2021. This is due to the large base of installed security cameras that already exists, to which video analytics solutions can easily be retrofitted.
However, by 2030, video analytics for production and maintenance will be a larger opportunity. This will grow throughout the decade along with the move to Industry 4.0 and increase in automation resulting in an increase in sensors and analytics. Verticals like manufacturing, oil and gas and logistics will therefore be key adopters of this use case.
As a Director in STL’s consulting business Tilly has more than five years of experience leading growth projects for technology and telecoms firms. She heads up our research and consulting practice focused on edge and cloud computing and was nominated for Edge Computing Woman of the Year in 2022. Tilly has a BA from Oxford University and an MA from the University of Pennsylvania.
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