Frost & Sullivan - C4I Market Players Forced to Improve Survival Techniques As European Defense Budgets Dwindle
SAN ANTONIO --- As governments worldwide slash defense budgets, participants in the command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) market are searching for new ways to survive. According to new strategic research by Frost & Sullivan, European Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence, the European C4I market reached $1.73 billion in 1998, an increase of 5.3 percent. Frost & Sullivan analysts predict market growth to peak and then decline for the remaining part of the forecast period, 1999-2005. Though mature, the European C4I market will experience growth primarily because of technological advances and the replacement of obsolescent or aging equipment. This report covers the European C4I market, which exists because of the interdependence of service units, the speed and range of modern warfare operations and the need for close coordination among separate service units. The study discusses three major segments: reconnaissance and surveillance; command and control; and communications systems. Decreases in defense spending, along with increased acquisitions/consolidations -- which is the market's main area of growth -- are affecting the way companies conduct business. Furthermore, concerns over national security have created a fractured market with many barriers to entry. Despite the mature market, the low concentration rates (45 to 49 percent) illustrate the effects of these national security concerns. According to Frost & Sullivan Aerospace and Defense analyst Sermin Taber, partnerships are also increasing in the European C4I market. "Niche players are forming partnerships among themselves or with larger competitors to gain access to regional markets or to offer greater skills during the bidding process,'' says Taber. Frost & Sullivan gives out Market Engineering awards to companies that have made a positive contribution to these markets. Three major players in the industry were awarded the 1998 Market Engineering Leadership Award: Boeing, British Aerospace and Thomson-CSF. The 1998 Market Engineering Product Line Strategy Award is presented to Kongsberg, while Racal has been given the 1998 Market Engineering Marketing Strategy Award. Frost & Sullivan, an international market consulting company, monitors the defense industry for market trends, measurements and strategies. This ongoing research is utilized to update online research including topics such as U.S. C4I, electronic warfare equipment and airborne and ground communications.
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Frost & Sullivan - C4I Market Players Forced to Improve Survival Techniques As European Defense Budgets Dwindle
