One Millionth SMART Board

PR E S S REL E AS E
One millionth SMART Board™ rolls off production line
SMART hits milestone with world-leading learning product
SMART Technologies announces that the one millionth SMART Board interactive whiteboard has
rolled off the company’s production line. SMART is the first interactive whiteboard manufacturer to
reach this significant milestone with nearly a quarter of these used in the UK. Over the past 17
years, SMART has sold about 70 percent more interactive whiteboards than its closest competitor.
According to first-half data for 2008 for the interactive whiteboard product category, SMART has a
53.3 percent global category share, up from 45.5 percent in the first half of 2007. The
information comes from Futuresource, an industry-leading global research company that has
tracked interactive whiteboard sales for the past eight years.
For more than 15 years, SMART has continued to develop and refine its SMART Board interactive
whiteboard by improving hardware design and upgrading software. The company has steadily
expanded its operations to meet increasing global demand for its wide range of popular education,
training and collaboration products. In October 2007, the company opened a new, purpose-built
facility to provide the flexibility required for accelerated market expansion. With greater
production capacity, SMART predicts it will produce its two millionth SMART Board interactive
whiteboard within the next couple of years. SMART acknowledges the strong contributions of its
staff and suppliers in reaching this notable milestone, particularly as other assembly operations
have moved offshore in large numbers in recent years.
“Since we first conceptualised the interactive whiteboard, we saw the potential for the product in
numerous teaching, learning and collaboration environments,” says David Martin, SMART’s
cofounder and executive chairman. “It’s rewarding to know that a growing number of customers
have come to appreciate the product’s benefits, and we are very proud to have reached this
milestone.”
“Adoption of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard reflects our strong commitment to
- more -
Page 2
understanding customers’ needs,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s co-founder and CEO. “We want
to thank our customers for supporting our vision by buying our products and the team of people,
both inside and outside the company, who directly support our customers and provide products
and services to SMART.”
A brief history of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard

Twenty-two years ago, SMART’s executive chairman and cofounder, David Martin, conceptualised
the SMART Board interactive whiteboard, and in 1991 the first generation of SMART Board
interactive whiteboards was introduced. The award-winning line of SMART Board interactive
whiteboards is the most widely installed in the world because of its unsurpassed product quality,
versatility and ease of use. Currently in its sixth generation, the SMART Board interactive
whiteboard line has expanded to include models integrated with projectors and other tools.
SMART’s product development now also focuses on a variety of supporting hardware, software and
content. Today, SMART is recognised worldwide as an innovator of award-winning hardware and
software for customers who meet, teach, train and present.
A brief history of the interactive whiteboard product category

SMART sold the world’s first interactive whiteboard to the University of Nevada 17 years ago. The
university saw the product as an ideal tool for its distance education program, and for the same
reason, the University of Ottawa was also an early customer for SMART. Similar to the emergence
of most new technologies, it has taken many years for the interactive whiteboard product
category to reach a tipping point. Today, interactive whiteboards and interactive displays have
become standard in primary and secondary school classrooms, higher education environments
and meeting rooms around the world. Futuresource, an industry-leading global research company,
forecasts continued strong growth for the interactive whiteboard product category, with a 200
percent sales increase over the next five years. For education, that means one in six classrooms
globally will have an interactive whiteboard by 2011.
-Ends-
About SMART
SMART Technologies Inc. is both the industry pioneer and global market leader in easy-to-use
interactive whiteboards and other group collaboration tools. SMART products include the family of
award-winning SMART Board interactive whiteboards, as well as interactive pen displays,
interactive digital signage, multimedia cabinets and software. Using SMART products, groups can
access and share the information they need to meet, teach, train and present. SMART has been
issued and maintains a broad portfolio of patents with numerous other U.S., Canadian and foreign
patents pending. SMART customers include NASA, Texas Instruments, BMW, Toyota Motors,
- more -
Page 3
One millionth SMART Board™ rolls off production line
DaimlerChrysler, Boeing, Lucent Technologies, NTT, the Los Angeles Lakers, Novartis, the U.S.
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Accenture, Procter & Gamble, British Telecom, Disney Imagineering and
Harvard University.
SMART is a private company founded in 1987. Employing more than 700 people, SMART is
headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with assembly facilities in Ottawa and Calgary, and
offices in Bonn, Tokyo, New York City and Washington DC. In 1992, SMART formed a strategic
alliance with Intel® Corporation that resulted in joint product development and marketing efforts,
and Intel's equity ownership in SMART. SMART products are sold through dealers across North
America and distributors worldwide. For more information, visit www.smarttech.com.
###
For more information, contact:

Sue Murray
Mango Marketing
1B Quadrant Courtyard
Quadrant Way
Weybridge
Surrey KT13 8DR
UK
Phone 01932 829077 Fax: 01932 827576
[email protected]
 2008 SMART Technologies Inc. Please note that SMART is written in all capital letters.

One Millionth SMART Board

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

One Millionth SMART Board

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

One Millionth SMART Board

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PR E S S REL E AS E

One millionth SMART Board™ rolls off production line

SMART hits milestone with world-leading learning product

A brief history of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard

A brief history of the interactive whiteboard product category

One millionth SMART Board™ rolls off production line

For more information, contact:

You might also like