Business opportunities
Is education still a worthwhile market for iFPDs?
When Sahara introduced the first iFPD at BETT in 2009, some con- sidered it a risk. And yet, succes- sors to that original board went on to set records as the mar- ket-leading product in the sector. Today, attention has switched to the enterprise market, indeed, some brands have moved out of education
entirely, arguing
that the sector is saturated and stripped of any worthwhile mar- gin. But a handful of brands have stuck with it..
At the time of the last ISE, Fu- turesource published a report on Interactive Flat Panels (iF- PDs) that stated that concluded that the technology continued to be a considerable success in both the education and cor- porate markets. By Q4 2017, 73% of all interactive display sales were IFPDs. The growth has been prodigious,
with a
CAGR of 48% from 2013 to 2017, with growth forecast to continue.
The Interactive Whiteboard
(IWB), the original technology, was in decline but still contrib- uted a significant volume. The US had over 50% annual iFPD volume and value growth, with rapid transition to larger size iFPDs, with well over half of sales now over 70”. Over 66% of US classrooms having an interactive display, and with the level of growth forecast to continue.
The market was fuelled by education, and specifically the K-12 market. The corpo-
rate meeting room market was regarded as almost untapped. Despite the scale of the oppor- tunity is vast, with 32 million corporate meeting rooms glob- ally and well under one million displays installed as of the last ISE.
“The entrance of Microsoft, Google and Cisco is starting to change the industry dynamic,” said Colin Messenger, Senior Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting. “These providers are leveraging their existing channel and user relationships and promoting ‘all-in-one’ meeting room solutions. The volume of interactive displays sold into the corporate market expanded over 30% in 2017.” New interactive touch tech- nologies, at the time, such as FlatFrog in-glass technology was being used by, at least, five major brands and provided a very impressive and highly ac- curate touch experience. Dell, NEC, HiteVision and ViewSon- ic are added the technology to their high-end ranges. Projec- tive Capacitive (PCAP) tech- nology, commonly found in the mobile device industry, is also starting to appear; Microsoft’s Surface Hub and Cisco’s Spark Board both have PCAP. With no frame, as the glass goes to edge, it provided better aes- thetics, as well as high accura- cy and faster speed of writing. The rise favour of the iFPD was accompanied by a trend towards more display person- alisation. This is very useful
for a teacher or corporate user moving between classroom/ meeting rooms who can set up the display to a pre-set height, content and configurations via biometric fingerprint reader or NFC card.
4K and multi-touch became standard with most offerings, with at least ten touch points. Panel providers are rapidly transitioning large screen sizes (60” +) to 4K from 1080p. “Display
sizes are
size and reductions in price are anticipated.
increas-
ing, 70” + screens are taking over from 60” and 84” screens are being replaced with 86” versions. This shift is being driven by panel manufacturers moving to new lines with more efficient processes, leading to less wastage and an increased number of panels during pro- duction. Also, bezels are be- coming narrower, so the actual visible screen real estate is big- ger,” added Messenger.
Continuing growth
Growth in iFPD sales has con- tinued throughout 2018 as corporate demand continues, new vendors come on stream and new regional markets develop, particularly China, where two thirds of all interac- tive touchscreens 1.1 million units, report Futuresource). Growth will be compounded by significant increases in in- teractive panel production as new capacity comes on stream in both South Korea and Chi- na. Increases in average panel
The impact of these changes on the total value of the education and enterprise market for LCD touchscreens will be increase from $9.4 billion in 1996 to $12.23 billion in 2020. Over the same period, the value of LED flat screens will increase from $4.5 billion to $6.25 bil- lion. Despite the rising interest in LED, Futuresource forecasts show demand for LCD units continues to grow (See the chart below). Analysis of 2017 sales figures showed that 79% of units went into education, but the relative balance with the corporate sector is chang- ing all the time. By 2033 the corporate sector will account for 44% of interactive touchscreen sales. As the market for interactive touchscreens has evolved, sup- plier options for the corporate section have moved in favour of vendors from an IT and soft- ware heritage, with significant players including Microsoft, Google and Cisco. This has giv- en an opportunity to the educa- tion specialists free to focus on adding value to their hardware through software and content. In the boxout below, Rob Xenos tells us the story of the Clever- store, a free teacher’s resource supporting the record braking Clevertouch Plus Series.
Promethean ActivPanel – supported by the huge repository of digital software resources available from Promethean.
Clevertouch Plus – record-braking solution for education, supported by the free resources from Clever- store
Promethean ActivInspire - Promethean’s gateway to learning
P14 AV News November 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20
