SMART Technologies announces its continued leadership in, and increased share of, the global interactive whiteboard product category. In Q2 2009, SMART’s interactive whiteboard category share was 52.8 percent – more than twice its nearest competitor, more than all competitors combined and 2.6 percentage points higher than Q1. Second quarter sales of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard were particularly strong in the United States, where the company holds a 63.4 percent share, more than two and a half times its closest competitor.

This share also represents an increase of 3.3 points over the previous quarter. In major geographies around the world, SMART’s category share also remains strong. Second quarter data confirms an 84 percent category share in Canada, 71.7 percent share in Mexico, 57.5 percent share in the UK and 50.6 percent share in Australia and New Zealand combined. In France, SMART’s category share rose 22.2 points, bringing it to 36.2 percent. Similarly in Brazil, the company’s share rose 18.8 points over Q1 to 35.3 percent. The data comes from Futuresource Consulting, a leading independent global research company that has tracked interactive whiteboard sales for more than nine years.

The total number of interactive whiteboards sold by all manufacturers during Q2 was 180,873, markedly up from 56,293 in Q1. More than half of these – 101,504 – were sold in the United States, with 64,414 coming from SMART. SMART also continues to be the leading interactive whiteboard provider across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific. The U.S. market is currently the largest and fastest growing market for interactive whiteboards in the world. Futuresource predicts that over 320,000 interactive whiteboards will be sold in the U.S. in 2009, the biggest year ever forecast for the country.

More than two million interactive whiteboards are now installed worldwide, and the product category continues to exhibit strong growth. In an earlier report, Futuresource noted that 557,000 interactive whiteboards were shipped in 2008, a 32 percent increase over 2007. The consulting firm forecasts that in the next five years the global installed base will reach more than seven million, which means that one in every five classrooms worldwide will be equipped with an interactive whiteboard. SMART has installed over 1.2 million SMART Board interactive whiteboards in 175 countries, and more than 25 million students worldwide benefit from the product every day.

Amit/ITVoir Network