NXP, Infineon and Inside Secure leads the way

NXP, followed by Infineon and Inside Secure ranked first, second and third respectively within ABI Research’s “Government & Healthcare Identity ICs” Competitive Assessment. The assessment consists of first half 2013 IC market shares alongside a vendor matrix where by the top IC vendors were scrutinized against a set of criteria under the broader Innovation and Implementation categories. NXP impressed for the second year running, maintaining the first position achieved within last year’s government ID Competitive Assessment by continual focus on adding new functionality and features to its product portfolio. Its success within the matrix is echoed within its ever-growing market share, which in the first half of 2013 neared the 50% region. Infineon impressed on the innovation front, achieving the highest overall Innovation score out of all the vendors. Its Integrity Guard solution is at the forefront of security features and its involvement with the OSPT Alliance is priming Infineon towards additional multi-application enablement and support. Inside Secure, ranked in third position, scored well within the Innovation category, recently shifting its focus and strategy towards embedded security for mobile, other CE devices, and the IoE. Research analyst, Phil Sealy comments, “Delivery of a high-end IC or inlays is only a small aspect of the government ID market. Governments are now demanding more from national ID programs, including multi-applications capabilities and credential re-use over other platforms. These new demands are placing more emphasis on IC and inlay differentiation factors such as additional security features, VHBR or higher memory capacities. The government ID market operates at the very highest end in terms innovation and security technologies used. Developments and product portfolios encompassing the above points will prove the required recipe to ensure future market competitiveness and on-going vendor success.”