The Screen Is Only Half the Story
Why the next chapter of digital signage is being shaped as much by software and communication as by the displays themselves.
I've spent a fair amount of time over the years working with display technology, and one of the things I've found most interesting is how the conversation around it has changed.
For a long time, much of the excitement naturally centred on the hardware. Screens became bigger, brighter, thinner and increasingly capable. New display technologies opened up possibilities that would once have seemed rather ambitious, while interactive displays changed the way people could work with information.
And I have to admit, I've always enjoyed seeing what's coming next.
But some of the developments that have interested me most weren't necessarily the ones that looked particularly impressive on an exhibition stand.
They were the ones that changed what we could actually do with the displays.
Earlier in my career, I became particularly interested in the opportunities created by software that could operate consistently across different devices. Rather than treating every screen as an individual product, it became possible to think about how displays could work together across an organisation.
That was an interesting change in perspective.
The hardware was still important, of course. But the conversation was no longer exclusively about the equipment. It was becoming about how technology could help an organisation communicate, share information and manage that process more effectively.
Microsoft Teams is perhaps one of the most recognisable examples of this evolution. I remember the early days of collaboration technology such as the original Microsoft Surface Hub, and how the wider Teams ecosystem has since developed into something that reaches across the modern workplace.
Another example I've seen first-hand is CleverLive, the digital signage software developed by Clevertouch, which operates across its own hardware range as well as compatible third-party devices.
I was fortunate enough to be involved with both technologies in their early days, and what interested me then still resonates today: the real opportunity wasn't simply in the individual devices, but in how software could bring them together into something much more useful.
And it's something I've been thinking about again recently as we've developed our digital signage offering at Collab AV.
We've touched on similar themes in several recent Insights. In The Most Important AV Technology Is the Technology You Never See, we explored how some of the most significant developments in workplace technology are now happening behind the scenes, particularly around software, security and device management.
More recently, in When Did Starting a Meeting Become So Complicated?, we reflected on how increasingly sophisticated collaboration technology should make people's lives easier rather than introducing more complexity.
There's a common thread running through those conversations.
As technology becomes more capable, the real opportunity isn't simply to give people more features. It's to make those capabilities work together in ways that are genuinely useful.
And I think digital signage provides a particularly interesting example of that evolution.eens can do, rather than what we actually need them to achieve.
From individual displays to connected communication
Imagine walking into a business with several offices or locations.
There's a display in reception welcoming visitors, another in a staff area showing company announcements and perhaps several more providing information in meeting spaces, retail environments or operational areas.
Each screen may be doing a perfectly useful job.
But there's an important difference between having several displays around a business and having a coordinated way of communicating through them.
If every screen operates independently, somebody needs to manage the information on each one. That might be relatively straightforward when there are only one or two displays, but as the organisation grows, the process can become increasingly difficult to maintain.
A company-wide announcement might need to appear across several locations, while individual offices need to show information relevant to their own employees and visitors. A retailer may want consistent promotional messaging across its stores, while allowing local managers to adapt certain content to their own requirements.
None of these challenges is particularly unusual.
In fact, they're the sort of everyday communication requirements that businesses have been dealing with for years.
What's changed is the ability of digital signage software to help manage them.
Rather than treating every display as a separate installation, organisations can increasingly manage their screens as part of a connected environment. Content can be created centrally, distributed across multiple locations and adapted to suit different audiences.
The same platform might support a reception display, a staff communications screen and a customer-facing installation, even though each is doing something quite different.
And that's where I think the real opportunity begins.
It's not necessarily about showing the same information everywhere. Quite the opposite.
It's about being able to communicate differently in different places, while maintaining a consistent and manageable approach behind the scenes.
A display becomes more than a screen showing a presentation or a promotional message.
It becomes one part of a wider communications environment.
And the value of that environment depends increasingly on how well everything works together.
The interesting part is often what happens after installation
One of the things I've come to appreciate about digital signage is that installing the equipment is only the beginning.
There's a considerable amount of expertise involved in choosing the right displays, understanding the environment, designing the installation and making sure everything works reliably.
Those things remain fundamental to any successful AV project.
But digital signage introduces another dimension because the information on the screen is expected to change.
And often, it needs to change regularly.
A promotional campaign comes to an end. A visitor announcement needs updating. A new product becomes available. A business wants to communicate something important to employees across several locations.
The screen itself hasn't changed.
But what the organisation needs from it has.
This is where the quality of the software and the simplicity of managing content become particularly important.
A business might have invested in an excellent display installation, but if updating the information requires a complicated process or specialist assistance every time, there's a risk that the system gradually becomes less useful.
Content gets left in place longer than intended. Messages become outdated. People stop paying attention because they've become accustomed to seeing the same information.
Not because the technology has failed, but because the process around it has become difficult to maintain.
And I think that's an important distinction.
When we're designing a digital signage solution, we're not simply considering how the screens will perform on the day they're installed. We're also considering how the organisation will use them in the months and years that follow.
The most sophisticated content management platform isn't automatically the best choice. For some businesses, a straightforward interface that allows somebody to update a few screens quickly and confidently may be exactly what's needed.
For others, particularly those operating across multiple locations, the ability to manage different groups of displays, control permissions and integrate with existing systems may be much more important.
Neither approach is inherently better.
The question is whether the technology fits the way the organisation actually works.
And that's where the conversation starts to move beyond traditional AV specifications.
Because we're no longer simply providing a display.
We're helping a business establish a way of communicating that needs to remain useful long after we've finished the installation.
Bringing information into the places where it matters
There's another aspect of connected digital signage that I find particularly interesting.
Businesses already have an extraordinary number of ways to communicate.
Email, messaging platforms, intranets and business applications all provide ways to distribute information. And with the continued development of AI, we're becoming increasingly capable of producing more content, more quickly than ever before.
But producing information and ensuring that people actually notice it are two rather different things.
We explored this in an earlier Insight, Your Employees Don't Need Another App, where we considered whether the growing number of digital tools is always making workplace communication more effective.
Digital signage offers an interesting alternative because it brings information into the physical environment.
Think about an employee working in a warehouse or manufacturing facility who doesn't spend much of the day sitting in front of a computer. An important update delivered by email may not be seen immediately, but the same information presented in an appropriate shared area could be considerably more accessible.
Or consider a visitor arriving at an unfamiliar office. Information about where to go, what's happening in the building or who they're meeting becomes particularly useful at the moment they arrive.
In a retail environment, information about a product or promotion is often most valuable when somebody is standing in front of it.
The common factor isn't the technology.
It's the relationship between the information and the place where somebody encounters it.
And this is where connected signage becomes more interesting than simply having a screen on a wall.
Information doesn't necessarily need to be created specifically for each display. In some cases, it may already exist within the organisation's wider systems and processes.
A digital signage platform can potentially make selected information available in the physical environment, with content adapted to suit the location and audience.
Of course, not every organisation needs sophisticated integration with existing business systems.
Sometimes a simple, regularly updated message is all that's required.
But the underlying opportunity is the same: to make useful information available where it is most likely to help somebody.
And perhaps that's a better way to think about digital signage than simply asking where we could install another screen.
A practical approach to connected signage
This thinking has influenced the way we've recently developed our Digital Signage Solutions offering at Collab AV.
We've been conscious that digital signage can mean very different things to different organisations.
For one business, it might involve a small number of displays in a shop or office. For another, it could mean a network of screens across multiple locations, managed through a common platform. And for some environments, digital content becomes part of a much broader architectural or visual experience.
All are valid applications, but they don't necessarily require the same approach.
We wanted to make it easier for customers to explore what might be appropriate for their particular circumstances, without assuming that every project needs to begin with a large investment or a complicated technical specification.
That's why we've introduced practical bundles for common applications such as retail signage, digital menu boards and office communications.
The intention isn't to suggest that every business should buy an identical package.
It's to provide a starting point that makes the possibilities easier to understand.
An organisation considering an Office Communications Bundle, for example, might initially be thinking about improving the information available in reception and shared employee spaces.
But that conversation can also help identify how the displays should be managed, whether different locations need different information and how the solution might develop as requirements change.
For some businesses, the answer will be relatively straightforward. A handful of
appropriately selected displays and an easy-to-use content management platform may provide everything they need.
For others, the requirement may develop into something more extensive, with multiple sites, different groups of users and closer integration with existing business systems.
And in more ambitious environments, digital signage can become part of an Integrated AV
Experience, where content, architecture and technology work together to create something quite different from conventional information displays.
What matters is that the solution reflects the purpose.
The hardware, software, installation and ongoing management all need to support the way the organisation intends to communicate.
That's also why I think independent advice remains valuable.
There are some excellent manufacturers producing remarkable displays and increasingly capable software platforms. The challenge isn't a shortage of technology.
It's understanding which combination makes sense for the customer.
And sometimes, the most important part of that decision isn't the screen at all.
The technology should become less important to the conversation
I don't imagine I'll ever lose my interest in display technology.
There's still something rather satisfying about seeing a new LED installation or an innovative display format that makes you wonder what's going to be possible next.
And those developments will continue to create opportunities for businesses to communicate and engage with people in new ways.
But I think the more interesting evolution is happening in the relationship between the technology and the information it delivers.
A display that might once have been treated as a relatively independent piece of equipment can now become part of a connected environment, where content is managed consistently and made relevant to different audiences and locations.
That may not sound quite as exciting as a spectacular new screen.
But for the organisation using it, the benefits can be considerable.
The ability to update information easily, maintain consistency across different locations and adapt communication as requirements change can make the technology much more useful over time.
And perhaps that's where the real progress lies.
Not simply in making displays more capable, but in making them easier to use as part of everyday business communication.
We've recently talked about the importance of simplicity in meeting rooms and the increasingly sophisticated technology working quietly behind the scenes.
I think the same principle applies here.
The more capable and connected our systems become, the less effort people should need to spend thinking about the technology itself.
The person responsible for company communications shouldn't need to understand every technical detail of the display network. They should be able to update the information they need, confident that it will appear in the appropriate places.
The employee, customer or visitor shouldn't need to think about the software platform or the integration behind the screen.
They should simply see information that's relevant and useful.
And perhaps that's a good measure of whether we've designed the solution properly.
Because ultimately, the screen is still important. Its quality, positioning and suitability for the environment all contribute to the experience.
But the software, the content and the way everything works together are what allow it to become part of something more useful.
The screen is only half the story. The other half is what makes it worth looking at.
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