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DISPLAYS
Interactive flat panels
on the rise
Popularity of the huddle room helps increase corporate flat panel ownership
conferencing and audio are creating
a combat zone of new challenges and
opportunities for all vendors operating in
this space.”
Futuresource Consulting points out
that web conferencing tools like Skype,
join.me and GoToMeeting are opening up
more opportunities for providers of meeting
room tech. It expects these platforms to
become integrated into the meeting room
experience as demand continues to grow
for more collaborative environments where
both content and video need to be shared.
Almost half (44%) of European
professionals surveyed have a company-
sponsored web conferencing account.
When conducting a meeting in their office,
over 25% of all respondents stated that
they prefer to meet using web conferencing
technology. This preference was highest
among large and mid-size organisations
and professionals working in IT, sales and
marketing and C-level management.
McIntyre-Brown added: “With the
lure of web conferencing and with 8% of
employees we surveyed working from home
three or more days a week, the role of the
corporate meeting room continues to build
momentum. Our interviews with purchase
decision-makers reveal that more than
half of the meeting room budget is spent
on display product. Combine that with
the increasing number of meeting rooms
expected over coming years and the drive
toward faster, smaller and more efficient
meetings and we’ll see well informed, agile
vendors reap the rewards.”
Futuresource Consulting is advising
AV providers to focus on the corporate
market as growing demand for additional
meeting spaces is expected to drive
increases in corporate flat panel
ownership of 25% in Europe and 17% in
the US.
Chris McIntyre-Brown, Associate
Director at Futuresource Consulting, said:
“Our figures point to a total addressable
market of more than 10.5 million meeting
rooms right now across Western Europe
and North America, and that figure just
keeps on rising. We’re seeing the rise of
the huddle space and opportunities are
opening up in the SME segment. These are
exciting times for the corporate AV market
and switched-on vendors could seize a
significant slice of the action.”
LCD flat panel displays continue to
take share from the projector market, and
the shift is accelerating. By the end of
2018, European respondents expect their
ownership of projectors to have declined by
9.6%, whereas they expect to increase their
flat panel display ownership by 25%.
Of all the European markets, the UK
showed the lowest reliance on projection.
Even so, over 55% of large meeting spaces
and 45% of mid-size meeting rooms still
have a projector installed.
A combat zone
“The corporate meeting space is no longer
all about the display,” explained McIntyre-
Brown. “Convergence of AV and IT and the
upsurge of collaborative communications
solutions, wireless presentation, video
Steelcase and Microsoft have jointly
developed a range of technology-
enabled spaces designed to help
organisations foster creative thinking
and better collaboration. The five
‘Creative Spaces’ integrate the best
of Microsoft Surface devices with
Steelcase architecture and furniture.
Research by the two companies found
that during the creative process
people need to work alone, in pairs
and in different size groups, using a
range of devices including mobile and
installed displays.
Photos show the Ideation Hub where
people can co-create, refine and share
ideas with co-located or distributed
teammates on Microsoft Surface Hub
[
1
]; the Duo Studio where two people
can co-create shoulder-to-shoulder, while
also supporting individual work with
Microsoft Surface Studio [
2
]; and Maker
Commons, which is designed to encourage
quick switching between conversation,
experimentation and concentration, using
a mix of Surface devices, including Surface
Hub and Surface Book [
3
].
3
1
2
Big opportunity
n
1 million Interactive Flat Panel Displays (IFPDs)*
sold worldwide in 2016, an increase of 14%.
n
Interactive IFPDs enjoyed a CAGR of 59%
between 2013 and 2016 and growth is forecast
to continue.
n
By Q4 2016, 68% of all interactive display sales
were IFPDs.
n
Combined sales of interactive whiteboards
(IWBs) and IFPDs reached 1.6 million in 2016.
n
In the US, half of IFPD sales are now over 70”.
n
The corporate market is under-penetrated.
Worldwide, there are 32 million corporate
meeting rooms, but well under one million have
IFPDs installed. In contrast, two thirds of US
classrooms have IFPDs.
n
The corporate market is expected to reach
500,000 annual sales by 2021.
* Interactive displays refers to Interactive Whiteboards
and Interactive Flat Panels used in the Education and
Corporate meeting room environments and does not
include other applications such as digital signage.
(source:
Futuresource Interactive Display Market
Report 2017)
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