OCR has seen a rise in popularity over recent years across a wide variety of industries. So, let’s take a look at the global OCR market, and what innovations are paving the way for the future of OCR.
But, firstly, what actually is it?
What is OCR?
OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition, a process through which a lens captures an image, which is then transformed into machine-readable data through text extraction. Whilst traditionally this concerns black text on white backgrounds, modern OCR applications can be tailored accordingly. Take online casinos, for example — when players try their hand at blackjack online at Paddy Power Games they will join a live game, hosted by a real dealer around a real table, which is streamed in real time. This uses a variety of digital technologies to provide an authentic and immersive casino experience.
With this in mind, platforms may want to display the results of the games on screen, or record them for analysis to ensure the fairness of the gameplay. Here, OCR systems can be programmed to recognise the difference between black and red writing on white backgrounds, as well as the distinction between the different suits. This demonstrates how adaptable OCR systems can be for a wide range of industries, with the ability to extract text and special characters from all kinds of documents, images, and live-streamed video.
Global OCR Market
In 2023, the global OCR market was valued at almost £9.69 billion, according to data from Grand View Research. From 2023 to 2030, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) or 14.8%. This growth is even more so reflected in the Asia Pacific segment, which has a predicted CAGR of 17.3% over the same period. Looking at the market in general, the software segment makes up the majority of global revenue, accounting for 81%. This includes everything from desktop-based OCR to cloud-based OCR, and even mobile-based OCR software programs.
The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector leads the market, with 19% of global revenue. That said, the transport and logistics sector is predicted to see powerful growth in the coming years, particularly with the introduction of AI-powered OCR software that could automate key logistical processes. With this in mind, it is possible that BFSI may lose it’s top spot in the global OCR market.
The Future of OCR
So, what’s next for OCR? As we’ve mentioned, AI is predicted to present a wide range of possibilities for all kinds of technologies, not least OCR. Most recently, PR Newswire reports that Gcore has launched an advanced real-time AI solution that allows online service providers to automatically moderate audio, text, and video content to improve user safety and compliance with international laws.
Elsewhere, Staria Flow accounts payable (AP) solutions have been bolstered with generative AI functionality. This solution already offers OCR technology, e-invoicing, and connectivity to banks. With genAI to back this up, this could spell a new generation of streamlined and automated AP processes that could spill into other financial processes.
And there you have it — just a short insight into the global OCR market, its current growth projections, key industry trends, and the innovations signalling a new future for the technology.