Myth: Biometrics Don’t Deliver Strong Return on Investment
In a time of corporate belt-tightening, security technology purchases are subject to more than usual scrutiny as stakeholders need to understand return on investment (ROI) before giving the green light.
One common myth about biometric identity solutions is that they don't deliver strong ROI, or that their ROI is unquantifiable and only consists of intangibles. This misperception is easy to advance when a cost/benefit analysis attempts to baseline biometrics hardware against traditional card scanners. It is easy to conclude biometric edge devices cost more, so they must have lower ROI.
However, the financial benefits of implementing biometric identity solutions become apparent when considering how they differ from the existing systems they might augment or replace.
Recurring Cost of Consumables
For starters, many incorrectly assume there will be an incremental cost for each enrolled user in biometrics, similar to Apple and Google charging fees per mobile credential token. And although physical cards and fobs may cost less, employers also have to maintain the equipment necessary to create and manage them. Then, there's the added expense of replacing lost and broken cards. In 2019, 17.3 percent of card or fob users lost at least one card or fob, and it took an average of 12.2 minutes for a security employee to replace it, according to a security trends report. Digital cards must also be reissued whenever a phone is lost, stolen, or destroyed. In 2023, more than 13 percent of U.S. smartphone users replaced their devices for these reasons.
In contrast, biometric credentials don't cost a thing because users already own the credential (iris, face, fingerprint, palm, etc.), and thankfully, they don’t ever need replacing. With no third-party consumables, total costs are limited to the edge devices themselves, which most often can be used for enrollment, too.
Intrinsic Costs of Risk and Liability
Identity fraud is more than a cybersecurity threat—it also impacts physical security with potentially substantial consequences. With biometrics, bad actors are much less likely to gain unauthorized access to restricted areas. This is especially true with iris-based systems, as the iris is known to be the most unique and most stable human biometric feature, in addition to being notoriously difficult to spoof. As a result, organizations reduce vulnerability to criminal activity and the associated liabilities and costs.
Hardening security with biometrics may even reduce business insurance premiums. Deployment is particularly valuable at data centers, clean rooms, drug or chemical closets, R&D laboratories, critical infrastructure, and other locations where breaches pose the greatest threats to physical and intellectual property, corporate and client data, or human safety. These benefits are further enhanced when biometrics are implemented at the center of a multifactor authorization system.
With biometrics, bad actors are much less likely to gain unauthorized access to restricted areas.
Efficiencies from Employee Productivity
Biometrics increase employee productivity throughout an organization. Employees never get locked out, do not have to return home for forgotten cards or phones, or fumble for credentials at access points. There is nothing to carry, nothing to lose, and nothing to touch. When applied to time and attendance applications, biometrics help eliminate the practice of buddy punching and other forms of time fraud.
For system administrators, biometrics mean no time wasted administering replacement credentials. Data management becomes easier as biometrics ensure accurate reporting and eliminate duplicate user entries. And, unlike traditional badging, new seamless self-enrollment solutions allow newly onboarded workers to obtain credentials without visiting an HR office, in turn reducing overhead requirements and saving costs.
Finally, biometrics allow security teams to spend a higher percentage of their time focusing on proactive measures to keep people and property safe rather than investigating identity fraud and its aftermath. Fewer security guards may be needed in common areas because biometrics help ensure that presented credentials are authentic.
Metrics Matter
Stakeholders are wise to evaluate and compare security technologies in terms of ROI. However, they must appreciate the many factors contributing to a solution's total cost of ownership and refrain from imposing one type of product's rubric on other distinct categories. When the costs and benefits of biometrics are viewed through an appropriate prism, organizations will clearly see the technology's ability to deliver a substantial and lasting return on investment.
Bobby Varma is CEO and founder of Princeton Identity, a manufacturer of biometric identity solutions that bring flexibility, accuracy, convenience, and scalability to identity management applications. She is a past recipient of SIA Women in Biometrics Award and the SIA Women in Security Forum’s Power 100.
