- 45.0 percent global product category share
- 65.9 percent product category share in North America
- 43.4 percent product category share in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
- Leading global provider of interactive response systems for K–12 market, with 27.8 percent product category share
CALGARY, Alberta, March 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SMART Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:SMT) (TSX:SMA), a leading provider of collaboration solutions, announces its continued leadership in the global interactive display product category, which includes interactive whiteboards, with a 45 percent share for 2011. SMART shipped a total of approximately 385,000 SMART Board® interactive whiteboards during the year. According to Futuresource Consulting, an independent global research company that has tracked interactive display shipments for 12 years, SMART's share was more than twice that of its nearest competitor. Compared to 2010, SMART increased its product category share in the Americas, in EMEA and in Asia-Pacific (APAC). Its share was particularly strong in North America, with 64 percent in the United States and 88 percent in Canada. SMART was also the leading interactive display provider in many other countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Russia, all Nordic countries, Australia, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. For 2011, the company also led globally in interactive response systems for the K–12 market, with a 27.8 percent product category share.
Futuresource reports that a total of approximately 857,000 interactive displays were shipped globally in 2011. It forecasts this to increase to approximately 965,000 in 2012, up 12.6 percent, with most of the growth expected to occur in EMEA and APAC. While substantial opportunities remain in education, these numbers also reflect an increasing use by business users. The report states there are just over 4.4 million interactive displays currently installed worldwide, with that number expected to nearly double to 8.4 million over the next five years.
"Governments around the world are continuing to invest in educational technology products, recognizing their ability to improve collaboration and enhance participation, while businesses are also experiencing the benefits of having interactive products in their meeting spaces," says Nancy Knowlton, CEO, SMART Technologies. "SMART is maintaining and in many areas increasing our product category share in interactive displays with our innovative and easy-to-use education and business collaboration solutions, making SMART well-positioned to meet the increasing global demand for interactive products."
About SMART
SMART Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of collaboration solutions that transform the way the world works and learns. We believe that collaboration and interaction should be easy. As the global leader in interactive whiteboards, we bring more than two decades of collaboration research and development to a broad range of easy-to-use, integrated solutions that free people from their desks and computer screens, so collaborating and learning with digital resources are more natural.
The SMART Technologies logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7573
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