Diversifying displays in the classroom

Interactive whiteboards have long been the main game in classroom displays but this is set to change

A bit of all white: In the last 10 years interactive whiteboards have become the dominant classroom display technology

Research firm Futuresource has released a report analysing the future of classroom display technology that suggests the market has passed a tipping point that will change its shape and prospects for VARs.

Within a decade interactive whiteboards (IWBs) became the dominant classroom display technology, but last year they hit what Futuresource called a $1bn tipping point. This will attract new, non-specialist entrants to the market as well as product diversification – and that is already happening.

“This has certainly been the case for the IWB category with the introduction of interactive flat-panel displays (IFPDs) and interactive projectors to the market. Both these technologies have the capacity to significantly alter the shape of the classroom display space,” Futuresource reported.

Mike Fisher, senior research consultant at Futuresource, said there will be changes in the vendor and technology landscape.

Large mainstream global firms are likely to start taking an interest in the market, and IWBs will become less dominant as products available around interactivity and connectivity expand, he said.

Interactive projectors and flat-panel display technologies are being rolled out. ChannelWeb reported in August that 10 major brands of interactive projectors, for example, are expected to swell the market by the end of 2010.

“Interactive projectors do get people into the market who weren’t previously involved [in education sales], so it will increase the overall market size,” Fisher said.
This means that channel players will have more competition and educational institutions will have more choices for their classrooms. It is likely, according to Fisher, that many will select different combinations of display technology than they have in the past – such as a fully networked interactive flat panel hooked up to a projector or touch walls.

In the short term, flat panels may be more expensive than IWBs, but that situation may change as competition intensifies, Fisher added.

Also, more channel players are likely to target specific segments of education – senior schools, universities, special needs or language schools, for example – for specific technology solutions. Fisher said that VARs must figure out how all the technology is going to fit together to best suit their own customers and build their business accordingly.

Meanwhile, the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) 2010 forecast for school tech suggests educational institutions are unlikely to slake their thirst for IT any time soon, despite funding cuts.

Prices per unit are still declining, for one thing. Also, many schools still indicate they feel under-resourced or would like more technology – all of which offers hope to VARs trying to navigate the increasing complexity of the market.

Ray Barker, director of BESA said that after year-on-year increases in ICT budgets since 2001, estimated ICT allocations are now shrinking, not least because IWBs themselves have reached 70 per cent penetration in the classroom.

Barker said in a statement: “Those schools indicating they feel underequipped in vital ICT equipment, such as laptop computers and internet access for pupils, do so mainly because their levels of expectation have grown over recent years.”

New and exciting options Martine Dodwell-Bennett, group sales and business development director at education-focused distributor Steljes, said the key thing is that products on offer can now work together in new and exciting ways, and these kinds of solutions can mean improved margins for the reseller.

“There are a lot of options in terms of classroom displays,” she said. “IWBs are by far the biggest option, but there are now interactive projectors, LCD panels and mobile solutions.”

Dodwell-Bennett said that vendor Smart’s IWBs are working together in new ways – although VARs must take care that any licensing issues around using the software differently have been addressed by the customer.

“It depends on what the customer is really trying to achieve,” she said. “With Smart, all the product peripherals that can go into the classroom – whether it’s a notebook, visualiser, or whatever – can all work with the same software platform.”

Customers can of course opt to swap out the software, but that often means negotiating a steeper learning curve and teachers may understandably prove rather resistant to having to learn a new tool in medias res.

“And 60 per cent of classrooms have a Smart board in them,” she said.

Dodwell-Bennett is already seeing more specialisation in education.

“We have seen increases in nurseries buying these things, integrating screens and the like. The 3-5 age group is seeing more investment in technology,” she said.