Jane Ashworth, Managing Director for SMART Technologies UK&I, has only one purpose - to reclaim the company's dominant market status by developing staunch channel partnerships and working hand in hand with key resellers in core markets.
It took Ashworth just two months to overhaul SMART's go to market strategy. She introduced a new distribution model, rebuilt the entire sales team and realigned the marketing operation. The extent of the transformation rendered the firm's previous modus operandi almost unrecognisable. "The team has a start-up mentality, and we're ready to reclaim our number one spot in the UK market," commented Ashworth.
Given the recent history of SMART's progressive action plan Ashworth is confident that she will quickly turn strategic vision into reality by working more closely with partners and supporting resellers directly. "Our new partner strategy revolutionises our approach to sales throughout the UK," added Ashworth. "We're seeing high demand for interactive flat panels throughout the education sector with a 37 per cent increase in 2016. Our whiteboards, interactive displays and software are designed for educators and businesses that believe in the power of collaboration, and a priority right now is working with our loyal partners who have helped build the market."
SMART's revamped channel strategy is based on a hybrid distribution system with partners Midwich and Westcon. "We now have a lighter touch distribution model," added Ashworth. "We're directly involved in the channel and showcasing a clear product roadmap. Our new partner programme has completely transformed our UK route to market. We're looking to serve a growing customer base more efficiently and we're noticing an increase in demand for interactive flat panels throughout the UK education sector. We have high expectations for the market and will continue to invest in a dedicated sales team both from a channel and user perspective. Aligning with our partners more effectively to develop and continue to drive the market is also a key priority."
SMART specialises in touch technologies and software. The company was founded in 1987 and is perhaps best known as the developer of the SMART Board interactive white board introduced in 1993. The portfolio has expanded greatly to include an array of hardware and software for businesses and schools to collaborate. To date the company has installed over 3.2 million products worldwide and claims a 70 per cent interactive white board market share in the US and UK. Over 2.8 million K-12 classrooms in 175 countries use SMART solutions and software to make education more engaging, effective and fun. SMART's flagship products include interactive whiteboards, projectors and flat panel displays that enable greater collaboration, productivity and performance. "The interactive flat panel market has taken off, particularly in the UK," commented Ashworth. "We're synonymous in the education space, but looking at the enterprise opportunity, the launch of kapp iQ in 2015 laid down a marker."
The 4K kapp iQ is a smart display designed to expand the whiteboard's reach beyond those in the room. Users can walk up and use it, like any whiteboard, and it's accessible by up to 250 remote meeting participants at a time through a unique URL. Any drawings made by the presenter on the kapp iQ are pushed to each connected mobile device in real-time. The presenter and participants can click a camera button to save a snapshot of what's on the board, which then gets stored on each participant's mobile device. Another turning point was Bett 2016 when SMART launched Classroom-as-a-service, or ClaaS, a subscription model that allows schools to spread the financial cost of interactive displays and collaborative learning software into schools, upgrade technology as well as provide training and support while keeping within an education body's budget.
"We are not going to drive the market through hardware alone," emphasised Ashworth. "Most opportunities are software led, and leading with software as a solution will make the most impact in classrooms and boardrooms. SMART empowers people to work and learn together in ways that simply make sense, enabling people to naturally collaborate and contribute in classrooms, meeting rooms and beyond. We're freeing people to evolve their thinking, simplify sharing and explore unlimited ideas by creating spaces that intuitively connect across devices and locations."
According to Ashworth SMART has a social responsibility to shape the classrooms of the future. "We now have an online store for teachers to buy one-off licenses, and we're making great steps to accommodate the challenges we face in the market today," she added. "Working with partners like Midwich and Westcon is vital to reach organisations looking to capitalise on software and hardware for collaboration. We are poised to quickly gather pace and accelerate our new channel strategy. What's core to reclaiming our number one status is supporting our most strategic and loyal partners by working with the AV sector to drive a successful solution strategy. Resellers that sell solutions, not box pricing, are the future. They will deliver more margin for the business through add on services. Resellers that are stuck in the past and fixated on price won't survive."
Ashworth joined SMART in January 2015, moving from HP where she was Commercial Director for the Print and Personal Systems Group, managing the channel. Prior to her five year stint at HP Ashworth spent 13 years at Sony in various UK and European consumer roles.
"It was a great, creative time to be at the forefront of innovation," she said. "My career in IT began during an exciting time in the development of consumer technology, bringing an array of devices to market. Seeing first hand the high demand for Walkmans, MP3 players and integrated digital AV systems got me hooked. In the consumer market I had a great chance to see fast growth first hand, learn different cost models for various products and compete with Apple and Samsung. I've always loved being at the forefront of technology, from the excitement of major product launches to hearing the feedback from customers."•