Smart education refers to the evolving face of the education sector, wherein the conventional idea of ‘just’ a teacher imparting knowledge to the students is replaced by a whole ecosystem of helpful tools. Smart education technologies include document cameras, interactive whiteboards, projectors, and 3D printers, alongside the more commonly available tools as interactive assistance in advanced learning.
A vendor in this innovative sphere must compete with the likes of Blackboard, Cisco Systems, Instructure, Pearson, and Samsung in the global smart education market. And why not? In line with a recent market research report from Technavio, the global market for smart education will accelerate briskly with a competitive CAGR, through 2017-2021. Big name vendors have identified the global smart education market as a progressive and profitable vertical that has a very limited footprint currently, but the latent potential is immense. Especially, in the case of K12 education, college and vocational training.
What are the challenges impacting the smart education market?
Despite the indicators that point to a productive market, the vendor will encounter several problems that will slow down the rate of progress in this highly competitive industry. A brief snippet of the same is listed herein-
1) Affordability issues – Institutions that offer smart education solutions are facing financial roadblocks in terms of adequate funding to purchase the necessary smart education software and tools.
2) Security and ethical issues – This concerns the safety of information that is posted online. Currently, the smart education systems aren’t robust enough to deal with coordinated cyber-attacks and phishing.
3) Recruitment of faculty and training – With the advent of online courses and learning methodologies, there is an acute need for instructors who can assist in the impartment of this knowledge, precisely and productively. Recruiting and training such a faculty can prove to be a limiting factor.
These, and other such factors listed in Technavio’s market research report point to a market that is slowly coming to terms with its potential and exploring, gingerly, the options available before it.
Roadmap for the future : Vendors must stay aware of the emerging market trends
As a vendor, can you afford to ignore the subtle waves impacting the global market for smart education today, that could potentially morph into a profit laden tsunami tomorrow?
Of course not. Based on acute observation of the global markets, the analysts at Technavio have listed a number of present day market trends that hint at the coming windfall. Two of the prominent trends are listed herein –
The incrementing importance for social learning – Basically, this alludes to an informal way of accessing and sharing information, that results in the enhanced learning quotient of the users. Educational institutions across the planet are quite keen on this development, as part of their smart education solutions.
The incrementing number of virtual schools – Currently gaining rapid traction in developed countries like the US and UK, virtual schools utilize various smart education tools like online content and delivery formats. Students across the world are slowly warming upto the idea of a ‘school away from school’.
In Summation – As a vendor in the global smart education market, it’s both exhilarating and a challenge that things are slowly yet assuredly picking up. In order to be ready for the competition, market conditions and the varied limiting factors, subscribe to the latest and most appropriate market insights.
