"A successful digital media solution accounts for more than what you can see on the surface," says Convergent. "It’s what we consider the "The Digital Media Iceberg..."

Solutions are getting more complex, not less. Convergent argues all the attention is given "to things like content and bezel-less screens" which leads users into making mistakes with their enterprise networks and the infrastrure that drives effective digital signage, the modern digital signage that encompasses so much more digital media than the "signage" of even 5 years ago.

A Ballantyne Strong Inc. company, for 35 years they’ve been working with clients to transform the customer experience and enhance the communication across employee channels. Convergent want to challenge customers to think differently about how to engage with their customers and employees-- and the technology they use to do it.

With the addition of new technology (just take, for example, mobile and Big Data and iBeacons), digital "signage" just doesn't encompass what can be achieved. 

Convergent describe the industry as a Digital Media Iceberg with three key tiers:

1. The Really Sexy Stuff
2. The Pretty Cool Stuff
3. The Geeky Stuff...(that if you don't think about your project will fail)

You'll have to download the free white paper to see their full infographic, but an iceberg may be the perfect metaphor to illustrate the different aspects that makeup today's state-of-the-art complete digital signage solution.

And if your client and their "ship-of-state" ignore this iceberg, the mistake will only be... titanic.

Go The Digital Media Iceberg

ONELAN has opened the new demonstration suite at its UK headquarters in Henley-on-Thames to showcase its full range of digital signage players and vertical market applications, including the new Reserva room booking system.

ONELAN's 4K expertise and experience is evident with an NEC 2×2 video wall with 4K loop-through, along with a 4K windmill configuration video wall which is driven by a combination of ONELAN / Datapath technologies.

The demonstration area is comprised of collaborative solutions with trusted partners, such as: Datapath, onemedia, NEC, LG, Samsung, Jansen, Peerless, and Realisation.

Go ONELAN Opens Demo Suite at HQ

Extron Electronics opens a product demonstration and training facility in Stockholm.

The new regional office will provide convenient access to Extron for customers in the Nordics. The new office will be a fully equipped, state-of-the-art training facility for showcasing and demonstrating the latest in Extron technologies and solutions. The office will be staffed by a dedicated technical and sales team, and will include meeting space, a training room, and a product demonstration lab.

Jérôme Guéras, VP EMEA says, "The new facility will allow customers to see working demonstrations of the newest Extron products, learn about AV technologies, and participate in certification courses closer to where they work and live."

The Stockholm office will be staffed by Extron S3 Institute experts and feature a familiar variety of Extron training choices, including hands-on training using real-world scenarios and courses to pursue various Extron Certifications. The first Extron training in the new facility is scheduled for October 6 and 7.

Other Extron regional training facilities in EMEA are located in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Tel Aviv, Russia, South Africa, and Dubai.

Go Extron Opens Product Demo & Training Facility in Stockholm

The global digital signage market is projected to reach $23.76 Billion by 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.18% between 2015 and 2020. 

The same report says the European Digital Signage Market is expected to reach $7.03 Billion by 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.84%.

This is from the latest report by MarketsandMarkets, a global market research and consulting company.

In Europe, the retail and hospitality sectors are expected to be the major applications boosting the growth of this market. 

According to the report authors, the demand for distribution and scheduling software has increased considerably over the past few years, mainly due to its ability to support activities such as creation, distribution, and scheduling, and displaying content for the LCD, LED, and OLED displays installed across the commercial, infrastructure, institutional, and industrial applications. It allows the users access to distribute and schedule programs over a large network or on a USB flash drive, and to select the software version as per their requirement, business environment, and the existing systems. 

Content management system is a major type of software in the digital signage market: it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.30% between 2015 and 2020. It facilitates the creation and management of the various types of information sent to digital signage displays. It is used for more sophisticated signage content and better ease of use. It also enables employees or students to  add content without gaining higher levels of administrative control over content. This system is used in all applications, as content is main aspect.

North America holds the major market share for digital signage market followed by Europe and APAC. APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 9.34% between 2015 and 2020, and reach $6.91 billion by 2020. 

The report refers to a number of players in the market who provide a wide variety of digital signage solutions and other allied solutions such as NEC Display Solutions (Japan), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (South Korea), LG Display Co., Ltd (South Korea), Sharp Corporation (Japan), Sony Corporation (Japan), Panasonic Corporation (Japan), AU Optronics Corp. (Taiwan.), Planar Systems, Inc. (U.S.), Adflow Networks (Canada), and Omnivex Corporation (Canada).

Go MarketsandMarkets