Speak about the unique products of AOC, Philips for the consumer and business-centric market

At TPV Technology, we offer the full range of AOC & Philips monitors to meet the needs of our consumers at every level. Be it gaming, go green, touch, privacy, or wide screens for professionals and businesses, we have the right specifications.

Philips monitors meet the needs of today’s dynamic and polyvalent professionals with a wide array of innovative solutions designed to maximize productivity, deliver true-to-life visuals, enhance well-being, and safeguard the environment.

Carol Anne Dias, Regional Sales Director – MEA at TPV Technology

With our Award Winning 49″ curved 499P9H 32:9 SuperWide display is like two full-size high-performance monitors in one. Productivity-enhancing features, such as USB-C and pop-up webcam with Windows Hello, deliver the performance and convenience you expect.

AOC Monitors focus on professional display needs. With full-HD IPS and dynamic design, 24V2Q gives business professionals an enhanced experience. The model has also won Consumer Choice Award for its slim profile.

What sorts of concentration and association TPV-Tech has with SMEs and large enterprises?

We closely work and design tailor-made programs for our SME and channel partners. Segregating categories into B2B, gaming, entry displays, and our PD range so there is a better focus on products. We have a dedicated “sell-through team” handling direct sales in the SME market along with our distribution teams. We cater to smaller resellers with different programs, so as not to leave out our partners from every angle.

Are you planning to present products or solutions at the GITEX Technology Week? If so, which are they?

This year our focus is to launch the Philips gaming range and that’s now available in retail stores. Focusing on detail features, such as the momentum display boasts sound by legendary audio experts Bowers & Wilkins, create a new level console gaming monitor with a 55’’ 4K HDR display with ambiglow. This will be our flagship product (558M1RY) rolling out big at the GITEX Technology Week with our partners.

Tell us about the high-end AOC gaming monitors and their demand

As known AOC gaming bagged the No. 1 position as per IDC in one quarter. From there on, there has been a high demand for AOC gaming monitors especially in the 27’’ and above.  2021 Qtr 2 as per IDC AOC split is almost 28% market share in 27’’ and above. Our flagship model AOC Porsche design PD27 is our unique display created for a perfectionist with QHD 2560×1440 with superior picture quality.

The PD27 has a 27-inch 1000r curvature display that comes with a QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution along with a 240Hz refresh rate, and HDR 400. It offers multiple video inputs ranging from HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 with support for adaptive sync. Users longing for the roar of the flat six-boxer engines in racing games will appreciate the 5W stereo speakers with DTS sound.

A signature feature of the AGON Porsche design gaming monitor is the ambient light situated behind the screen that illuminates for a more immersive experience. A wireless gaming keypad is also included letting you access various settings such as FPS and RGB at a press of a button.

How do you evaluate TPV-Tech’s business prospects for the next five years?

Researchers predict that the global display market will hit a whopping figure of $206.29 billion by 2025. In light of this, we foresee it as below:

• Looking to the future of the workplace many factors will change the way we work. One of the most important when it comes to technology is the display. The visual aspect of our computer setup dictates how we view and engage in our daily tasks. It allows better communication, enables us to visualize our work, and lets us see the results. We have already seen trends such as large display formats, slim borders, borderless, curved, 4k resolutions, touch screens, and so on
• In the next coming years, we will see display screens incorporating trends such as visual/augmented reality (VR/AR) allowing users to view, move around, and interact with 3D displays
• 8K displays will allow larger screens without pixelation
• Transparent, flexible, and foldable – Ideal for meeting and conference rooms
• Eye-tracking: Like mobile phones, displays will have an eye-tracking feature for security
• AI will be incorporated into display screens, which will allow consumers to automatically be informed on suggestions on how to improve time and operate as your personal assistant

What categories of IT products does Trigon LLC mostly distribute to the enterprises?

We are the authorized distributor for esteemed brands like LG, Samsung, BenQ, D-Link, Netgear, Peoplelink, Logic, Barco, etc. We focus on distributing large-scale infrastructure solutions, commercial display devices – for various industry verticals, educational hardware, and healthcare solutions.

Vijay Thekkoot, Assistant Vice President, Trigon

Tell us a bit about Trigon’s association with the small, medium, and large enterprises in the region

Trigon LLC functions as a part of Al Ghurair Group. Offering excellent solutions over these years, the company has been gained a commendable position in business-to-business distribution. We cater for all major industry verticals and our customer base is spread across government, SMEs, large corporates, transportation companies, and retail enterprises.

We have our forte in turnkey solutions, which gave our partners the confidence to execute a project like EXPO 2020. We supplied and installed LEDs and other displays devices from LG across the EXPO site, both in-door and out-door. We undertake their maintenance as well.

Trigon will set up a branch in Abu Dhabi that enables us to serve Abu Dhabi customers more efficiently.

Apart from end-to-end IT distribution, we understand Trigon offers service support to its customers. How comprehensive is that?

We have a dedicated team to handle services, maintenance, and repairs for all the solutions distributed under Trigon LLC brand portfolio. With a dedicated service center based out of Dubai, Trigon gives comprehensive services across the country. Similarly, we deployed a team for annual maintenance contracts (AMC) for leading clients, such as Dubai Airport, EXPO 2020, and Dubai Mall.

How competent you are, as a solutions provider, in terms of supplying the latest and cutting-edge technologies to enterprises from its associated vendor partners?

We offer a wide range of turnkey solutions for digital signage and related professional displays from global brands. The solutions incorporate consultancy, integration, installation, maintenance, and after-sales support. For video-conferencing solutions, we rely on Peoplelink solutions and for wall-mount solutions, we choose Logic.

As we know the GITEX trade show is around the corner. How does Trigon plan to present its brand and solutions to its (potential) customers through the event?

Trigon isn’t participating in GITEX, this year as we have some pre-planned engagements. We join hands with our vendors and planning to have business meet and training for our customers. We also have a plan to invite our customers to the LG experience center in Media City to show our latest and innovative products and solutions.

Today, we attribute our strength to the success of 230+ editions of VAR, which continues to be the favorite publication of the ICT channel, 95 editions of The Integrator, 150+ events in 14 countries, and B2B lead generation program in 24 countries. The glorious journey thrives and we are all set to announce an iconic product Digital B2B Lead Generation platform at GITEX Technology Week – 2021. Simultaneously, VAR expands its functional ground to the electronics, IT, and telecom sectors. Notably, we are up again to honor leading ICT solutions providers in the 14^th edition of the ICT Champion Awards that happens on the sidelines of GITEX. Stay tuned!

The September 2021 edition of The Integrator covers the broad spectrum of the display market including commercial, professional, and consumer electronics display devices. As always, we left no stones unturned in our exploration of the sector. The growth prospects of OLED, the splurge out on consumer electronics, and the ongoing shortage of ICs, used in commercial display devices, have been explained in the edition and major interviews with industry leaders.

The Integrator has a progressive approach towards the developing trends in the market and we decide to dedicate a part of the September edition and the entire October edition to pour light on the UAE’s fastest-growing SME sector.

We thank each one of you for the guidance and support and without that, we couldn’t have achieved any of these.

Happy reading!

Murali Margassery
Assistant Editor

No matter how much visual chaos has been created, the ever-growing display market attached to it values over $166 billion, and that is spread across a dozen industry verticals!

The display market has already redrawn our conventional angles of viewing and showing. Its current foray into newer markets appropriates steady expansion of LED in the commercial display sector to flexible display in consumer electronics. When it comes to studying display, there are three major market segments, which are display type, technology, and application. All of them have been occupied mostly by global corporations. Regional players also closely contest in this professional B2B market. Samsung, LG, Sharp NEC, Panasonic, Hitachi, BenQ, Epson are to name a few, who pose cross-vertical competition.

“Although North America contributes a large to the display market, the Asia-Pacific region forecasts the highest growth with an average of 11.7 percent in the next five years to come.”

Staunching Presence of Commercial Display in the Market

From healthcare to aviation, from retail to automobile, and from BFSI to defense, the commercial display has marked its solid presence. Concerning the commercial display market, it isn’t technological advancement that creates a huge impact but dependability on technology and its market acceptance. The B2B display market demands robust devices as they often get exposed to changing weather conditions or extensive use for long hours. Most hardware manufacturers and service providers concentrate on a specific area to have their dominance. Presumably, it gives them ease to handle market challenges.

Let’s look at key sectors and dominant market payers.

Healthcare Demands Clarity and Precision

The medical and healthcare sector is consistently in need of robust communication devices. The clarity and precision they offer directly Influence the decision of medical practitioners. When it comes to reviewing technical aspects of monitors and other display devices, their brightness, noise, viewing angle, and durability to withstand disinfectants are major considerations. Healthcare command centers and workspaces are also needed for high-end devices.

The global medical display market has been valued at $2052 million in 2019 and the estimated growth rate (CAGR) during 2020-2027 is 4.9 percent. Samsung, Barco, AG Neovo, PLANAR, Sharp NEC are the companies that invest and bring out competent technologies into the field besides tightly chasing the competition.

Healthcare Display Devices:

• Hospital Administration Monitors
• Self-Service Kiosk
• Doctor Room Monitors
• Dental Monitors
• Multi-Modality Display Devices

Digital Disruption in Retail Display Sector

The retail display industry is more incandescent when it comes to evaluating the competition and technological advancements. Digital signages of advertising are flagbearers of growth in this sector. Whether it’s about interactive in-store posters or eye-catching out-of-home (OOH) advertisements, they are always within our short vicinity.

With the arrival of the newest and energy-efficient technologies such as OLED and micro-LED, the investments in high resolution (4K and 8K) and large-size (52 to 75 inches and above 75 inches) displays have increased tremendously. Be it a simple restaurant menu or a gigantic shopping festival display, devices at incredible capacities are produced and supplied by leading companies as well as local players.

Samsung Electronics dominates the market since 2009 with a market share of 23 percent and the following are LG (12 percent), SeeWo (6.1 percent), NEC (5.8 percent), Philips (4.2 percent). The global display market is valued at $38,444 million in 2018 and is forecasting growth by an average of 7.7 percent during 2019- 025.

Retail Display Devices

• Signages (Outdoor and Indoor)
• Video Wall
• Interactive Displays

Infotainment Drives Automotive Display Market

“The global automotive display market is projected to reach USD 39.7 billion by 2027 from an estimated USD 18.4 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 13% from 2021 to 2027,” says, a recent research report by Market Research Future (MRFR). Increasing demand for infotainment, reliable navigation systems, and the development of connected vehicles significantly driving the automotive display market. The capability of internal screens is enhanced as they could display internal temperatures of engines, tire pressure, and safety belt indications. The use of the screens to caste OTT platforms through smartphones is another area of improvement that took place recently.

One of the breakthroughs of the automotive display market is the availability of flexible display devices. Vehicle cockpit can’t approve of large or stiff installations and custom-designed screens can easily blend with a vehicle’s design. Along with energy-saving TFT-LCD technology, flexible displays capture the market and established dominance. By technology, demands are including high-resolution, large screen, and highly accurate in-touch technology, 3D technology, and IPS (In-panel Switching) technology.

Seeing the presence of major automotive manufacturers, Europe anticipates dominance in the automotive display market. France, Germany, and the U.K. are major contributors to the regional market. APAC is expected to register a remarkable growth rate over the forecast period. Delphi Technologies, Visteon Corporation, Magneti Marelli S.p.A, LG Display Co. Ltd, Nippon Seiki Co. Ltd, Qualcomm Technologies Inc, Continental AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, Panasonic Corporation, and 3M are the key players in the automotive sector.

Resurge of Aviation Display Market

Today’s airport terminals are quite more than facilities for air transportation. Apart from regular flight information display systems (FIDS), they harbor interactive wayfinding and entertainment solutions, digital posters, video walls, large-screen projections, and more. Some are kept by the retail outlets, restaurants, lounges set up inside the terminal complex. Not only display systems established their prominence presence in airport terminals but also in aircraft – enhancing in-flight interactivity.

The FIDS market had 4 percent of CAGR until December 2019. The COVID19 pandemic has created a huge economic slowdown and the aviation industry was the first one to take the shot. However, Market Watch reports a resurge of the FIDS market and estimates a good growth rate between 2020-25. AirIT, Dameral Systems International, NEC, Simpleway, and Gentrack are some of the key players in the market. LED, OLED, LEC are the main display technologies used.

Aviation-Focused Display Products:

• FIDS
• Airport Control Room Displays
• Wayfinding Displays
• Video Walls
• Interactive Posters
• Avionics Application Displays
• In-Flight Entertainment

Consumer Electronics Rely on Technological Advancements

The display market pertaining to consumer electronics generates nearly 50 percent of the overall global display revenue. While appropriate the surge of smartphone and tablet sales to the growth rate of OLED would help us to recognize the driving force. Unlike commercial display, technology becomes the only crusader of growth and advancement. OLED technology offers high resolution and clarity on consumer electronic devices include wearables. Also, its challenges to face odd weather or temperature conditions are way too less than that of commercial display devices.

OLED technology anticipates 15 percent of CAGR in the coming years and the burgeoning m-commerce practices keep the pace of growth intact. Similar lines of commercial display, the Asia Pacific (APAC) region foresee a high rate of growth.

Consumer Electronic Display Products

• Smartphones
• Wearables
• Cameras
• Monitors
• Appliances

Defense Display

Display installations on military vehicles, control rooms, and devices used by soldiers refer to defense display devices. These devices are extensively used for training, combat management, surveillance, and logistics and administration by the navy, army, coast guard, and others.

Major considerations when it comes to manufacturing display devices for military use are simplicity in operation, compact design, high-resolution, vibration and heat resistance, fit for harsh environmental conditions, and unbreakable. The major vendors of military display devices are Bluestone Technologies, Getac Technology Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation, Assured Systems Ltd., Aydin Displays, Crystal Group, General Digital, ZMicro, etc.

Defense Display Devices

• Rugged Monitors
• Military-Grade Work Stations
• Standard Monitors
• Rack-Mount Flip LCD Monitors
• Waterproof Sealed LCD Monitors
• Open Frame LCD Monitors

The growth and advancements of the display market were steady over two decades. While technological evolutions, i.e., CRT to LCD, LCD to LED, LED to OLED, helped to scale growth, the overlap and fusion of technology have also contributed to the expansion of industry verticals. The inception of digital signages not only unleashes market explosion but also created a competitive market environment. However, leading display companies decided to stick to their strongholds and increase market share. Some of them established decades-long supremacy in their territories. Most display vendors are from North America but the Asia Pacific remains the reservoir of economic growth for the upcoming years.

Sharp NEC has a prominent presence in the display market. Speak a little about your signature products and business prospects

Sharp NEC is probably the single manufacturer with the highest breadth of products in visual technology ranging from desktop monitors, projectors ranging from entry-level projectors used in K12 schools to 35,000 lumens projector used for auditoriums and stadiums, digital cinema projectors, large-format displays from 32 inches up to 98 inches, state of the art fine pitch LED products, and outdoor LED displays for OOH and signage applications too.

Adarsh Nair, General Manager, Sharp NEC Display Solutions, MENA

Compare between MENA and other regions in terms of Sharp NEC’s display solution demands

We have similar market share and demands from all regions including MENA, Europe, North America, and APAC. The business prospects are higher in the US and Europe considering the broad industrial demands and the concentration of several global multinationals in the USA and Europe. Many of these multinationals prefer SHARP NEC through its “ONE-NEC program,” which allows them to have a global agreement for all its installations worldwide which means consistent pricing, efficient global outsourcing, standard commercial terms, and centralized contracts.

Which are the industry verticals (healthcare, automotive, retail, etc.) choose the display products from NEC, and what category of products are highly demanded?

With handling installations in over 200 airports, Sharp NEC has a dominant presence in the aviation sector than any other. Retail is a big market but the increase in supply in this sector has made price dip across the years. NEC has made several key product investments like the low-cost system on chip based on Rpi4 in the retail sector keeping in mind the nature of the market. We expect NEC’s market share to grow substantially in the retail sector in the coming year.

Security and surveillance application in several verticals like oil and gas, telecom, energy, utility and, others have been big business for us. We are seeing a big spike in the use of fine pitch LED in control room applications too. We recently installed the world’s largest LED-based control room in the world for STC in Riyadh.

Speak about the new technology that Sharp NEC wants to concentrate on, and why?

Even though technological advancements take place often in the display industry, the need of the professional B2B display market is to have highly robust, longer-life display products. In terms of the future, you can expect to see more of the 8K panels in B2B installations. SHARP NEC already has the biggest 8K display – 120 inch in the market. We have in our portfolio flexible LEDs (our recent Adidas installation), transparent LEDs, which is something we expect more demand from the retail sector.

Speak about the digital cinema business in the UAE and Sharp NEC’s business prospects in it.

We have nearly 30 percent of the market share in Europe’s digital cinema sector and a decent market share in the MENA market. Roxy cinemas in UAE is one of our recent installations. This is one sector that has been severely affected due to the pandemic.

How about software or application support for Sharp NEC’s display products?

This has always been our focus. We are not just a hardware manufacturer but provide the complete software solution to control all the hardware we provide. Having a single vendor providing a turnkey solution reduces errors in the installation.  Control rooms applications are a classic example where SHARP NEC can act as a single vendor to provide the display products and visualization and processing software products needed for a turn-key solution.

Where does Sharp NEC’s hardware production take place?

SHARP NEC is a Japanese company. All R&D takes place in Japan or Germany. Depending on the type of product. Assembly happens in China, Thailand, and Poland.

Any challenges for display or signage business

The COVID19 pandemic threatened the display industry as well. Post-covid effects such as IC shortages and the spike in logistics and transportation costs have affected all display manufacturers including SHARP NEC. This we feel is a temporary phase and our reputation has always kept the business fly high.

Dahua is one of the front runners in the display market through its digital signage products. Speak a little about your signature products and business prospects.

The signature products are LCD video walls. Dahua’s LCD video wall has been divided into ultra series, essential series, and basic series. According to OMDIA, Dahua ranks the Top3 in the global LCD-splicing display market.

Justin, Display Products and Solutions Director, Dahua

Which are the industry verticals (healthcare, automotive, retail, etc.) that Dahua strongly operates and the market share in these verticals?

Dahua has been paying attention to the development of various industries, and the industry verticals that Dahua strongly operates are security and protection, and transportation. According to OMDIA, Dahua ranks second in global security and protection.

According to Sai Wen Traffic Network data, Dahua ranks sixth in the performance ranking of end-user orders in China’s urban intelligent transportation market from 2016 to 2020.

How about Dahua’s business and market share in the MENA region in comparison with others?

Dahua has been working hard to expand business in the MENA region. Our current performance growth is higher than other areas. We have professional pre-sales, sales, and delivery teams in Dubai, UAE, and provide full service to our customers.

Speak about the new technology that Dahua wants to concentrate on (i.e., LCD, LED, etc.), and why?

Dahua focuses on new technologies such as LCD video walls and LED displays. LCD technology takes a transformation from professional fields to commercial fields. Thus, it will have more advantages and competitiveness in price, in the future.

In addition, Dahua has always adhered to technological innovation and improve R&D capabilities, and our products have the advantage of low power consumption.

How is the software and application support provided for Dahua’s display products?

The software worth mentioning is Media Publishing System. This system can support a variety of display devices such as monitors, LCD video walls, and LED displays for advertising content publishing, editing, and replacement.

In addition, this system has many advantages and highlights. E.g., Tt enriches the elements of program production, which is easy to use and can improve the program quality. It can also customize the program template, support U disk import and export, and reduce the investment of customized development. At the same time, you can also match the mobile phone APP to audit and release the advertising content.

Any business challenges for display or signage business?

As we all know, the cost of raw materials has risen sharply due to a shortage of ICs and chips in the past few months and we are facing big pressure on the supply side. But as a professional and known manufacturer, we dealt with these issues very well in advance and got positive feedback from the market.