Multimedia spend tops #460m mark

European spend on multimedia training and education will be $722m (#463m) by the end of this year and could reach $13bn by 2005, according to research by market analyst company Datamonitor.

The business sector currently accounts for most of this spend. Last year, it invested $244m in multimedia training and education. This figure is expected to rise to $507m by the end of the year, representing 70% of the total European spend. The business sector is predicted to spend about $8bn by the year 2005.

This indicates a fundamental shift in the training world, from human-delivered instructional training to standalone multimedia packaged training, said Datamonitor. This will certainly cause a ripple effect in the direction and growth of the global hardware and software industries, it said.

Multimedia training, via CD-ROM, CD-i, intranet and Internet and video conferencing has become an important means of staying competitive, analysts said.

The home market is also expected to experience significant growth in multimedia training and education by 2000. By 1997, the home market is expected to grow to $135.7m, and will reach $1bn by the turn of the century.

Slow growth is expected in the education sector. Datamonitor said this is because education establishments do not receive adequate financial support to encourage IT use, and because of a lack of curriculum-based multimedia packages.

However, this market spent about $59.2m in Europe in 1995 and is expected to invest $1bn by the year 2002.