Digital signage in action - questions and answers

For most folks Digital Signage sounds a bit like witchcraft - which is totally understandable. The whole topic is oddly specific and is used for specific use cases.

For now at least.

The industry itself is in constant growth and it can be assumed that this will continue for the next few years.

Here are a few external articles for you to check out:

• Digital Signage Market worth $27.8 billion by 2026 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/digital-signage.asp
• Digital signage market to grow by 6%: https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/news/digital-signage-market-to-grow-by-6/
• Digital signage: strong growth ahead with ever more applications: https://www.i-scoop.eu/digital-signage/

Here at netmax.de, we also deal with different approaches to bring you closer to digital signage. Last week's entry, for example, describes - with a bit of crude humor - what Digital Signage actually is. If you haven't read it yet: https://www.netmax.de/blog/what-is-ds

Now you may be thinking to yourself: "That's all fine and dandy, but..."

Where is the best place to start?

The ultimate question - and one that is not so easy to answer. Because where you start depends first and foremost on your needs. For this purpose, you can ask a few key questions:

What do I want to achieve with digital signage?

That in itself is the most important key question. Because without an objective, the displays will neither help their customers nor provide any added value for you. But precisely in this aspect lies the answer: generating additional value for customers and employees.

But what would this added value look like in your case specifically? In the end, the displays convey information or offer the opportunity for interaction. Depending on the industry, of course.

• In hotels, for example, signage displays can provide directions to conference rooms and/or trivial information such as weather and general news .
• In school or office environments, it can be used to broadcast specific information such as timetables or shift schedules, or to communicate special dates such as company celebrations or meetings.
• In factories, multiple displays could be used to show the safety information and any special circumstances.
• In general working environments where rooms are often used by different parties, it can be displayed whether the room is occupied or not, for whom it is reserved, etc.

I could go on all day, but the point is: there are countless ways to use digital signage. If you're not sure how and if digital signage can help you, feel free to contact us.

What special considerations do I need to be aware of for my business?

This is a key question, but it is also a very specific one. Therefore, I would like to explain it briefly. This is all about you! What are the specifics of your industry? Your business?

The whole concept depends on the peculiarities of your operation:

• Are the screens visible to customers or only to employees?
• How large is the area to equip? How many screens do you need for it?
• Special building features: Radio-shielding walls? No permanent power available?
• What does my hardware and software infrastructure need to have?
• Indoor or outdoor application?
• Who will operate the hard- and software in the end?

And these are just a few of the questions that come to mind. Of course, we can help you with this as well - it definitely helps to ask these questions in the first place.

Budget - I know, I know.

Yep, I know. Nobody wants to hear it, but you know it best: The whole process costs money. And depending on what you have in mind, more or less.

If you worked out a concept, what you want to achieve with it and what the specifics are, then you can also start talking about budget. Because if your budget is a little tighter, then you have to get a little creative.

But do not despair: we will find a solution.

Food for thought: An exemplary installation in a hotel

Now that we have raised a few questions, I would like to give you a brief, real-life example in numbers:

Elysee Hotel Hamburg

The Elysee in Hamburg is equipped with our viewMAX series. The viewMAX-Director software - which is installed on a Windows computer - operates 25 digital signage displays and 5 so-called Public Displays - a kind of overview screen. These guide the guests to the respective events in the hotel - conferences, meetings, etc..

All displays are controlled via Wi-Fi.

More about the viewMAX software can be found on our product page: https://www.netmax.de/viewmax

What do we learn from this?

After talking about a specific real life example, we can now use it to answer an array of the questions we talked about beforehand.

• What do I want to achieve with the displays? I want my guests to find their way around without human help.
• Are the displays visible to customers? Yes.
• Site specifics: Continuous power is available, Wi-Fi coverage is available.
• Indoor or outdoor application? Indoor.
• Who will end up operating it? The hotel staff who book the appointments.`
• What must my hardware and software infrastructure provide? A Windows server must be available.

These are of course the specifics for this case. In other cases with other products - for example cloud software for digital signage - all of a sudden a Windows server is no longer required and the displays themselves only need a web browser.

In conclusion

Well, after you've read through this, I think we can safely assume that with some thought and research Digital Signage does not feel like such a gargantuan task anymore.

But even then: If you have any doubts or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us via mail: info@netmax.de.

Thanks for tuning in!

Until then! Don't be a stranger!