Delegates polled at the recent IFSEC conference in Birmingham estimated that the number of CCTV cameras in the UK would more than double by 2018, in a survey carried out by Mirasys.

The poll of security professionals estimated that an average of 8.6 million CCTV cameras will be in place by 2018, compared with the current figure of 4.2 million cameras. This figure includes deployments at people’s homes as well.

Mirasys polled 150 delegates during IFSEC who came from different vertical sectors including banking, government, public sector and retail. When asked what features delegates valued most in surveillance security systems, professionals ranked ‘improving picture quality’ as their first priority followed by ‘making systems easier to use’ as second.

The survey also found that 84% of delegates felt that previous CCTV implementations had been successful and achieved their main objectives.

“These findings show that customers value the contribution of advanced surveillance systems to the welfare of their businesses, but above all, it suggests that they’re looking for user-friendly, cost-effective products,” said Jukka Riivari, chief executive officer of Mirasys.

‘We know that the market will continue to grow, and we must enable people to upgrade to modern systems that allow them to get value from their surveillance solutions without it costing the earth."

As the UK security market moves more and more towards a digital or IP-based security standard, the poll investigated the level of penetration of digital systems. In all, 73% of delegates had installed digital or mixed systems at their facility, while 18% remained using analogue formats.

Riivari added, “Advances in technology mean that more and more surveillance products are now within the reach of small and medium enterprises who wish to improve their security systems, without the high costs of installation and maintenance of the past. What’s different is that  entry level packages now offer features such as excellent picture quality, thanks to the new technology.”