Think thin to fatten up margins

Flat-panel displays set to depose CRTs

How about investing some time and effort into selling a technology that laughs at depressed economies and shrugs off tighter corporate budgets?

No, it's not Bob the Builder merchandise but LCD flat-panel displays. The technology, which usually sports price tags that come with health warnings, is now affordable.

Last March analyst Dataquest said: "If 15in LCDs reach a price of $399 or lower in 2001, LCD monitors should achieve significant penetration among consumers and businesses." Well, they already have, and this Christmas people will be able to buy LCDs for less than £200.

While all other desktop technology sectors are being hammered by the economic nosedive, LCD panels have entered the corporate space as a mainstream piece of IT kit. Who says recessions are bad for everyone? Just look at the figures and judge for yourself because, no matter what the source, they are all preaching from the same bible.

According to research analyst DisplaySearch, worldwide shipments of LCD monitors jumped 23 per cent in the second quarter of 2001 compared with the same period last year. Shipments were up by 131 per cent year on year to 2.9 million units. CRT monitor shipments fell by 13 per cent, down 11 per cent for the year.

Stanford Resources predicted that CRT monitors will be deposed as the leading desktop display device by 2007. Analyst Romtec reported that July 2001 was a record month, with flat panels accounting for 28 per cent of the UK third-party monitor market.

A combination of weak markets, over supply and vendors slashing prices to clear inventory and kick-start some customer interest has paid off.

The LCD flat-panel market has been catapulted into the IT fast lane. Since the beginning of the year, prices of 15in LCDs have plummeted by up to half, resulting in serious interest from the retail sector. Many of the UK's High Street giants are making room on their shelves for low-cost LCD panels in time for Christmas.

In the past, the Armani-like price tags have stopped people even looking at all the other benefits of flat panels.

For many businesses, the total cost of ownership benefits of LCDs, such as lower power consumption, a smaller footprint and zero heat output, were not enough to stop them choking over the price.

But all of these considerations become very important in a climate that requires companies to cut costs.