Monitor Madness

CRN takes a look at the astronomical sales growth some solution providers are seeing in this emerging segment in a feature on page 53. Public display monitors are the wide-screen LCD and plasma displays you see in airports and retail stores. The hard, cold cash that partners are raking in by bringing these products into NOCs, public facilities, educational institutions and many other sites is nothing short of amazing given the sluggish IT spending environment. Some are realizing sales growth as high as 30 percent, with margins running at 25 percent to 30 percent on a complete public display project and the average deal running several hundred thousand dollars.

Whether they are being used for informational presentations at retail stores or for network monitoring in operation centers, these displays are cropping up everywhere. The market is being fueled by an impressive set of products from some of the world's most technology- and channel-savvy companies, including Samsung, NEC-Mitsubishi and Philips.

The influx comes on the heels of strong continued innovation in what has long been one of the most underappreciated segments of the industry. Consider the technology advances and the dramatic price/performance breakthroughs that monitor makers have delivered over the past five years. Then compare them to those for other segments of the market such as PCs, servers, notebooks, routers and switches. Then consider that monitor makers such as ViewSonic have been strong and committed channel proponents for decades while vendors in other product segments seem to run hot or cold.

Solution providers should start looking at the return on investment they get from vendors in other product segments and make some hard and fast decisions. My bet is a lot of partners will decide their time would be better spent on public displays.

The most successful solution providers are the ones that capitalize on the "there is margin in mystery" phenomenon that drives all new technology. Now is the time to get into the public display market. Those who don't take the plunge are going to miss out on an opportunity that will make many other solution providers wealthy.

What's your view on public display monitors? Let me know at (781) 839-1221 or via e-mail at [email protected].