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| p2p Magaz i ne | Summer 2013
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES
01732 759725
Geared for growth
Is the writing on
the wall?
According to the latest research from Futuresource Consulting, sales of interactive
whiteboards and interactive flat panel displays in the education and corporate sectors
for calendar year 2012 are up 15% annually – to nearly one million displays.
The UK finished the year with
an annual growth of 7%. This is
significant, as it follows six years of
decline from the peak in 2005, and
according to Futuresource, comes
despite the increasing presence
of personal tablet devices in the
education sector.
Futuresource forecasts that the
total display technologies market of
interactive whiteboards, interactive flat
panels and interactive projectors will
reach 1.16 million devices by 2017. “The
education sector is by far the biggest user
of interactive display technologies with
some 85% of UK classrooms having an
interactive whiteboard installed,” says
Senior Analyst Colin Messenger.
Interactive flat panel displays are
starting to take market share from
interactive whiteboards and some of
the first replacement boards are being
purchased, with schools tending to buy
the same brands again. Although the
BSF (Building Schools for the Future)
programme was abandoned there is
still significant new school construction
due to the rise of academies, as well as
substantial rebuilding programmes within
Interactive flat panel displays are
starting to take market share from
interactive whiteboards...
...technology facilitates
productive meetings
that ensure the group
maintains focus on a
common goal...
existing schools.
Whilst adoption within the corporate
sector is still ‘tiny’, according to
Messenger, the scale of the corporate
space presents a number of viable
opportunities for manufacturers.
“With over 67 million meeting rooms
worldwide, this segment of the corporate
market alone is twice the scale of school
classrooms.”
As a result, growth is in
the corporate market – with
developed markets including
the USA, UK, Germany and
Sweden forecast to be the
fastest growing sectors,
increasing to 30% by
2017. “This is where
manufacturers are now
looking to target,” says
Messenger.
www.futuresource-
consulting.com
Traditional whiteboards, a meeting room staple
for decades, have – up until now – remained an
integral part of office life, largely due to their
multifunctionality. As opposed to making them
redundant, the introduction of projectors into the mix
provided them with a new lease of life, as their semi-
matt finishes designed for writing on also make great
projection surfaces.
However if, as Futuresource suggests, sales of
interactive whiteboards and flat panel displays take off
in the corporate space, could the writing for the humble
whiteboard be on the wall? Soon, might we all be using
SMART boards instead?
A mainstay in classrooms across the globe, we could
soon see a wider adoption of SMART Technologies’
interactive whiteboard systems in the office space.
The SMART Board 800 series interactive whiteboard
systems which are available in two sizes and with two
projector options enable people to seamlessly interact
with applications, files and each other.
The combination of flexibility, an appealing design
and a natural touch and writing experience makes them a
great choice for virtually any environment. They provide
virtually unlimited digital whiteboard space, the ability to
write over any application, options for saving work and
integration with Microsoft Exchange – while multi-touch
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