Article

Scala celebrates 20th anniversary

The software giant sees plenty of room for growth.

July 15, 2007

Scala's had a big year. Twenty of them, in fact. And the company, which started in Norway in 1987 and incorporated in the United States in 1991, is putting the anniversary to good use.

Not only did it host a celebration at InfoComm07 in Anaheim, Calif., it has released the fifth generation of its signature product, the InfoChannel suite of digital signage software, and announced several new deployments.

Pretty good for a company whose early days included designing software for the Commodore Amiga platform. "We were ahead of our time," said Gerard Bucas, chief executive of Scala Inc., at in interview at Digital Signage Expo 2007 in Chicago.

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Moving ahead while holding on to heritage seems to be a company theme. One of Scala's first endeavors involved the kind of customization of content that now characterizes its flagship product, Info Channel. The company worked with cable-TV providers to give users an affordable way to create localized channels. Two of its customers from that time — Comcast and Charter Communications — still are customers. Now, doing business in 62 countries, and with a third of the U.S. market in its pocket, Scala is feeling pretty good about its position.

Director of marketing Richard Trask said the company rarely sells direct — most of its licenses are sold by Scala-certified partners and VARs, of which there are now more than 350 around the world. The company holds regular training sessions for partners, both in its Exton, Penn. headquarters and at remote locations depending on need.

While some deployers may prefer a more conventional way of putting content on screens — such as through a Flash player — Scala preaches the benefits of remote content management and easy customization available via software and centralized administration.

One feature of the new InfoChannel 5, for example, is that the software can tailor broadcasts of commercial messages to inventory. "Why advertise Coke if you've run out of Coke?" said Bucas, who was a 1991 finalist for Inc. magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year. The message is taking Scala deeper into other markets and verticals, including corporate communication, where there is more focus on the intangible benefits associated with digital signage.

"One problem for retail — the Holy Grail — is this whole ROI thing." In corporate communications, Bucas said, there is not as much worry about hard ROI.

The same is happening elsewhere in the world.

"Outside the U.S., more is happening, because there is more focus on soft ROI. It's not about selling ads."

Whatever the approach, it seems to be working for this company, 85 percent of whose investors are Norwegian.

"Our biggest competitor is the DVD player," Bucas said.

Editor James Bickers contributed to this story.