With the end of the year now only a few weeks away, media conversations almost inevitably turn to what will become part of the zeitgeist in the next 12 months and it appears that a number of technology analysts see a huge future for biometric technology.

According to Wired, 2014 will see biometrics accepted as the right tech for the moment, with authentication and access control increasingly moving away from keys, codes and passwords towards physical forms of user verification. While biometric security is well-established in border security and crime prevention, there is a growing acceptance that human characteristics such as a fingerprint are extremely hard to replicate, hence the consensus that biometrics time is close at hand.

This move toward biometrics as a form of security compliance has gathered pace in a number of industry sectors, especially for those who run or operate data centers. This has dovetailed with an increased awareness of the value of information, with consumers now fully cognizant of the fact that personal data needs to be protected at every level.

Understanding access control
There have, naturally enough, been several signs that biometrics is on the cusp of mainstream adoption, with the introduction of fingerprint sensors in mobile phones seen by many as a huge step forward. However, this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how influential biometric security will be in 2014, with data protection once again at the heart of the conversation.

In fact, the security of data has become a selling point for an increasing number of companies, a scenario that may have been inadvertently been assisted by the actions of the NSA over the course of 2013. Individuals are now aware that data centers are at the center of a battle between companies and the government as to who and what can gain access, and while it may seem that the concerns are virtual, the physical aspect of protection can certainly not be understated.

Companies that have adopted biometrics have, according to a recent article posted on Business Reporter, seen an improvement in customer satisfaction and trust. One of the major concerns of an increasingly digital world is the level of access that can be achieved through the simple act of misplacing an identity card or physical key, while passwords are now seen as a weak link in the security chain.

Biometrics, on the other hand, are a demonstrated means of monitoring personal access to a variety of facilities, and if the media buzz around the technology continues to build, then mass adoption could be sooner rather than later. Predicting the future is never an easy task, but if the stars align in the way that they seem to be, 2014 could be a very good year.