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Giving thanks for a strong digital signage ecosystem

Digital signage expert blogger gives thanks for the many partners and elements that play integral roles within the digital signage ecosystem.

November 25, 2015 by Jeff Hastings — CEO, BrightSign

In my role as CEO of BrightSign, I often view the broader digital signage marketplace through a lens that highlights the role our players, software and networking solutions play within the industry as a whole. And while I (of course) firmly believe that BrightSign delivers the best purpose-built digital signage hardware on the planet, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the many other elements that play integral roles within the digital signage ecosystem.

First and foremost, media player hardware should have a purpose-built operating system, and a flexible and malleable application stack to enable VARs and systems integrators to make custom applications and plug-ins available to their customers.

Content management vendors, integrators and technical consultants are often the end-user’s initial point of contact. End-users — in most cases a business, municipality or other institution — approach these specialists with a vision of how they would like to utilize digital signage, without much forethought about how to realize that vision. Then the real magic happens. I continue to be amazed by what these specialists can achieve. With the proper tools in hand, virtually any application can be realized using digital signage.

With that in mind I’d like to highlight some recent examples of how our partners and friends in the digital signage ecosystem are taking digital signage to the next level:

Sierra Media Services took on a monumental task at the 2.2-million-square-foot International Exposition Center in Cleveland. Not only did they outfit the facility with a complex network of 22 screens ranging from 8 to 30 feet across, but they custom-built a CMS module that enables advertising reps to schedule ad runs with great precision, avoiding any possible overlap of competitors’ ads. This module enables the reps to mange all aspects of order generation, from capturing customer data to planning where/when the ads will run. It even automatically generates and sends invoices with detailed reporting data as soon as the ads run.

Another one of our partners, OSM Solutions, created something called Menuboard Manager, which lets proprietors update their digital menu boards using any Web browser, including browsers on iOS, Android and Windows Mobile devices. Menuboard Manager greatly simplifies the way restaurants manage their menu content, and Starbucks, Chili’s and Pizza Hut are just a sampling of the large chains that rely on it on a daily basis.

Insteo is a company we’ve worked with for some time now. They do a great job of streamlining the way users interact with complex digital signage installations. Case-in-point, Insteo recently installed a network of displays in a nursing home. The primary role of these displays is to keep residents abreast of current happenings at the facility, requiring frequent updates. Insteo custom-built an interface whereby employees simply update information within a Google Sheets document and the displays are updated automatically — empowering employees to manage the signage using a familiar platform. The company is also in the process of creating a signage solution for medicinal and recreational marijuana dispensaries. This burgeoning market is one of the most heavily regulated industries, and Insteo’s work enables the dispensaries to automatically adjust menu offerings based on inventory changes in real time. This helps the dispensaries monitor sales and inventory management — two processes that are critical for the detailed reporting they must provide the governing bodies that oversee the dispensaries.

Also worth a very timely mention is Red Dot Digital Media, a long-time partner and a leader in HTML5 content creation. Red Dot works with its customers to help them with online template-based sign creation using our BrightPlates platform. And for those customers seeking a fully customized solution, Red Dot works with them to achieve a custom look that's all their own.

In closing, each year when November rolls around, I’m reminded of things I’m thankful for — both personally and professionally. And I think I speak for all of us here at BrightSign when I say how thankful we are to have such a diverse network of partners within the digital signage space. Together we continue to push the limits of what is possible, and I can’t wait to see what our future collaborations hold.

About Jeff Hastings

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