Strong start to 2007 for interactive voting
Smart's entry into the voting space will further boost the market following a strong Q1
The UK interactive voting systems market kicked off to a good start this year with more than 50,000 handsets sold during the first quarter, according to figures from market watcher Decision Tree Consulting (DTC).
This compares with 47,000 units sold in the same period last year and 40,000 units in Q4.
Colin Messenger, senior consultant at DTC, told CRN: “We are estimating around 300,000 systems will be sold during 2007; last year sales totalled 195,000.”
DTC expects a boost to the market with interactive whiteboard giant Smart Technologies’ entry into the voting space. The vendor’s Senteo voting system began shipping on 1 June.
“It is good news for the channel that Smart is entering the voting space as it will help to raise the profile of voting systems,” said Messenger.
Jack McGuigan, director of VAR Independent Products, agreed. “A well-known name such as Smart getting involved in voting will certainly put a spotlight on the market,” he said.
DTC said it would be interesting to see what effect the entrance of Smart would have on the the top three vendors in the voting arena – Promethean, Turning Point and Qwizdom.
However, Gary Morrison, sales director at Qwizdom, remained unconcerned. “Senteo is identical to our old handset,” he said. “Our fifth-generation handset, launched last year, includes text input and is currently out of stock due to huge demand.”
Nancy Knowlton, chief executive of Smart, told CRN: “We have taken the time to appreciate what functionality is really important to teachers in an interactive response system, so we are very optimistic about the adoption of our offering.”