Distributors commence battle for system crown

Steljes and Promethean set for growth in AV market's hottest sector, says DTC research

Colin Messenger: Interactive systems following similar patterns to whiteboards.

Competition in the hottest audiovisual market is increasing, as the rivalry between Steljes and Promethean becomes more intense.

Poised to grow 23 per cent this year, the interactive response market is one of the most lucrative in IT.

According to Decision Tree Consulting’s (DTC’s) first-quarter sales research, Steljes has grabbed a 34.6 per cent share of the market, while its rival Promethean followed with a 31.5 per cent share.

DTC analyst Colin Messenger, said: “With whiteboards we saw that they took a long time to build an impetus, then suddenly there was a storm of demand. That is what we are witnessing now with interactive systems,” he said.

Graham Wylie, Steljes marketing director, was enthusiastic about the market. “Resellers have something they can go back to existing customers with and build on the strength of the whiteboard. These are perfect complements.”

Interactive voting systems enable audiences, such as children in class, to answer questions via handheld terminals. Promethean has two types ­ Activote, which limits users to multiple choice answers and Activexpression, which allows for more creative licence.

However, sales of Steljes’ Senteo model have doubled to eight per cent of the market, giving the distributor market leadership over its rival.

Tracey McLaine, a representative at Promethean, was unmoved. “The market figures do not worry me. There is room for growth in this sector, especially for our partners now that we are channel focused.”