Visualisers to complement IWBs

Futuresource study finds visualisers are approaching five per cent penetration as yearly sales reach £12m

Next big thing: after mass adoption of IWB technology, visualiser sales could provide new revenue streams

Futuresource Consulting’s first visualiser market study has suggested that the technology may be the next big AV opportunity in education.

Colin Messenger, senior consultant at Futuresource, said electronic projection tools are demonstrating growth similar to that of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in 2003.
UK visualiser sales, worth £12m, are approaching five per cent penetration, up from 2004’s 0.2 per cent.

When IWBs achieved the same penetration, they began to grow exponentially. Players that enter before a strong growth phase can profit.

“Many wish they had got involved with IWBs back then,” said Messenger. “Now might be the time to get into this new market.”

Since about 75 per cent of classrooms in the UK now have IWBs, they are thinking about things that built on the benefits of IWB technology.

Like voting systems, visualisers complement IWBs. Sales may rise for several years until about 40 per cent penetration.