Whiteboard market springs back into action

UK market for interactive panels and whiteboards resurrected after six years of decline

Sales of interactive whiteboards and interactive flat panels rose seven per cent to 44,000 units in the UK and 15 per cent to nearly one million units globally for the year 2012.

That is according to Futuresource Consulting figures released quarterly on the corporate and education markets.

"This is despite the increasing presence of personal tablet devices in the education sector, which continue to gain a foothold," the analyst said in its announcement. "The UK finished the year with annual growth of seven per cent, which is significant as it follows six years of decline from its peak in 2005."

Interactive flat-panel displays are also starting to take market share from interactive whiteboards and some of the first replacement boards are being purchased, with schools tending to buy the same brands again, the firm noted.

There is still new school construction as well, which encourages sales of such products. This is primarily due to the rise of academies and to rebuilding programmes within existing schools, according to Futuresource.

"Futuresource forecasts show that the total display technologies market of interactive whiteboards, interactive flat panels and interactive projectors will reach 1.16 million devices by 2017.

"However, the adoption rates of the three products vary significantly by country and even by region," the analyst noted.

Some three million media tablets were purchased by schools in 2012, and Futuresource said this has definitely increased competition for school sales.

"However, with more than 67 million meeting rooms worldwide, this segment of the corporate market alone is twice the size of school classrooms.

"As a result, the corporate market is forecast to be the fastest-growing sector, increasing to 30 per cent by 2017. This growth will be in more developed markets such as the USA, the UK, Germany and Sweden," Futuresource concluded.