Why SaaS & SoC software makes sense for Digital Signage? 

Choosing the right software for digital signage networks could be a daunting task for any organization. Especially since functions such as IT, Marketing, Procurement and Finance have their own list of requirements that needs to be fulfilled.

We will in this post break down why SaaS (Software as a Service) and SoC (System on Chip) compatible software makes sense across the board for all organizations who are serious about their Digital Signage. But first, what are SaaS and SoC?

SaaS refers to Software as a Service and in Digital Signage terms it means you will not only get access to the software itself but also feature updates, server infrastructure and security management, data transfer, and hosting space.

SoC refers to System on Chip. Modern Digital Signage hardware from manufacturers like LG or Samsung comes with built-in, robust player hardware and software. This means when you purchase the hardware you actually are buying both the monitor and the hardware required to update the marketing content over the air

Financial Decision

For many organizations, the investment in digital signage has to be carefully considered and in many cases, CAPEX is one of the main factors therefore lower priced OEM screens and players are commonly considered. This could become costly over time due to the high failure rate making it more expensive over time compared to signage-grade hardware.

1. The cost of high-quality signage hardware from manufacturers like Samsung or LG has decreased over time and as it includes SoC it represents a very attractive package.
2. OEM screens and non-commercial grade player hardware usually come with 1 year or less warranty (compared to 3 years for Signage Grade) due to higher failure rate and shorter lifetime.
3. The cost of maintenance and repairs are higher with OEM screens due to a lack of spare parts and on-site warranties from distributors and manufacturers.

IT Decision

The Signage and SoC hardware is specifically built to play every day for 16 or 24 hours for several years. The panels are developed to withstand long operating hours without losing brightness and contrast over time. In addition, SoC functionality means less hardware as this setup eliminates the media box. This leads to lower network failure and simpler system diagnostics. In addition, some softwares have deep integration with signage grade screens allowing the software to automate the on and off time according to the opening hours of the retail network, this ease workload on staff and further increase the lifetime of the screen.

SaaS software eliminates the need to allocate time and resources to set-up and operate dedicated servers. Softwares such as Signage Player also offers state of the art security, stability and are constantly updated with the latest features and requirements to meet the ever changing needs of retail digital communication.

Marketing

For marketeers simplicity and software capability are the usual suspects when looking at signage software. The system should be simple enough for marketing teams to quickly being able to adopt and implement while enterprise-level functionality needs to be in place. A great interface with drag and drop features are usually desired alongside functionality like:

• Store / Location Manager: The ability to manage a large number of stores and related signages including opening-hours and on-site contact details.
• Tagging: Organise videos, photos, and screens in tags to simplify management of large amount of data.
• Day Parting: Ability to broadcast specific content on specific time of the day, for example only broadcast breakfast items in the morning and happy hour on weekend afternoons.
• Trigger based broadcasting: Broadcast content based on specific external events such as weather conditions, stock price changes or data changes from ERP systems.
• Screen Grid and Templates: Divide the screen into different blocks or work with graphic templates where content are auto-populated.
• User roles: Provide users with access to part of the system or screens. For example store managers get access to their store or area manager can upload content to their territory.

Giant Pumpkin provides Digital Signage hardware, installation and support and market leading software in Southeast Asia.