RVMaS are the 'next play,' says research firm

The market for residential remote video monitoring and surveillance (RVMaS) is set to explode.

That's the new year's prediction from Wellingborough, UK-based IMS Research, which pegs 2008 worldwide revenues for residential RVMaS, which "allow the end user to remotely view live or recently recorded video in security and non security related applications," at approximately $158 million.

"IMS Research conservatively predicts that this market will be over three times as large by 2013." But that's not necessarily good news for current providers.

What IMS calls the "key factor" in the growth of RVMaS market in the years ahead will be the entry of the big communications companies, who increasingly will provide the same types of video security services that current providers, mostly retailers and security resellers, offer.

One big reason that the telcos, cable companies and other broadband providers will get into the residential security game is simply synergy. RVMaS products offer to big communications companies the prospect of "ease of installation (e.g. self installation possible), synergy with other products and solutions (e.g. residential gateways, home automation etc.) and the potential to generate increased parallel service revenues (e.g. increased broadband bandwidth, wireless data, etc.)," according to IMS.

RVMaS also are increasingly attractive in a period of slow or non-existent economic growth and slowing subscriber penetration levels.

IMS also notes that RVMaS products are "currently available from companies such as, Axis, D-Link, Linksys, Logitech and Panasonic, with the service element of the solution provided by communications companies such as AT&T, China Telecom, TeliaSonera and NTT."