For calendar year Q3, sales of interactive whiteboards and interactive flat panel displays in the education and corporate sectors are up 22% year-on-year, according to the latest quarterly research from Futuresource Consulting. The following data provides key highlights from the market report.
Asia: Best Ever Quarter for Sales
Asia has, by far, achieved its largest ever quarter in terms of sales, with 76% year-on-year growth and activity in the region was much larger than in the Americas. China volumes were the largest, making China the largest country market in the world for the first time. Futuresource expectations are that the huge education tenders will continue. India also experienced a substantial quarter, with more than 300% year-on-year increase.
USA: Market Falling
In the USA volumes fell, as previously forecast by Futuresource, and the education market is expect to continue to drop over the next few years; by the end of this year almost half of K-12 classrooms will have an interactive display and the early models sold into the market are not yet ready for replacement.
EMEA: Strong Growth
EMEA also experienced its largest quarter ever in terms of sales, achieving 44% year-on-year growth, with Vestel completing shipment for phase one of the Fatih tender. Additionally, Russia also had huge sales in the quarter.
UK: First Growth in Seven Years
The UK market is forecast to have 10% growth in 2012 according to Futuresource data. This is significant as it will be the first growth year for the UK in seven years. 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 existing schools.
The Global Perspective
The total market for interactive whiteboards, interactive flat panels and interactive projectors within education and corporate sectors is forecast to reach 1.5 million by 2015. However, the adoption rates of the three products are very different by country. Futuresource has compared all three technologies in eight countries.
The scale of the opportunity in the corporate space is colossal, with over 67 million meeting rooms worldwide – this segment of the corporate market alone is twice the scale of school classrooms. However, there is currently no adoption of any specific product, so the market is open to be taken.
The corporate market is forecast to be the fastest growing sector, increasing to 24% share by 2016. This growth will be in the more developed markets like the USA, UK, Germany and Sweden.
