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By Alberto Jessurun / October 20, 2021 / Blog

7 Challenges for Organizations Investing in Digital Signage

The most common challenges to optimizing your investment in digital signage

Key Takeaways
  • Understanding the challenges of digital signage allows you to optimize your investment
  • Challenges start with choosing the right hardware along with an intuitive content management system that integrates with your other programs
  • Businesses can make these choices more easily if they have clear goals
  • Organizations also need to consider data safety, connectivity issues, and reliability standards
  • The right technology partner can guide you to the right signage based on your needs and budget
Digital signage initiatives require organizations to embrace the latest digital innovations and master these new technologies, but this process comes with challenges. Organizations interested in the benefits of digital signage need to understand the unique challenges and roadblocks associated with this type of technology, and they must be ready to sidestep or address these challenges as needed to optimize their investment. 

If your organization is considering investing in digital signage, you need to be aware of the following challenges. This guide is designed to briefly explain the possible hurdles related to buying, installing, and using digital signage so you can optimize your investment and avoid wasting resources. 

1. Unclear goals

Many challenges arise because organizations don't have clear goals about how they want to use digital signage. A retailer, for example, may notice that many nearby retailers have invested in digital signage and decide that they need digital signage to beat the competition. However, if they fail to identify clear goals about how they want to use their signage, they won't buy the best signage for their needs.

Setting goals helps you narrow in on the right type of signage, and it also helps you use your signage more effectively. For example, if your goal is to increase visibility for your storefront, you will need a different sign than you would if your goal was to post a digital menu inside a restaurant. 

2. Choosing the right hardware

Even with clear goals, choosing the right hardware can be difficult, especially if you are not familiar with this type of technology. You need to choose the right type of sign for your space and meet your visibility requirements. For example, your sign may need to be big enough to be seen from a certain distance or small enough to fit in a certain area.

You also have to consider the resolution. Higher levels of resolution tend to cost more money, but they also increase the clarity of your display. In that same vein, you need to consider pixels per inch (PPI) — higher levels of PPI improve visibility when people are standing near your sign. 

On top of these issues, you need to consider the lifespan of your screen and whether it's consumer or commercial grade. You also need to choose between different types of displays, such as LED, LCD, OLED, and Plasma, and consider whether you want your display mounted to the ceiling, wall, or floor. 

3. Integration challenges

Digital signs generally need to work with multiple systems, and buyers need to ensure they choose a sign with hardware and software that can integrate with their programs. For example, if a retailer wants to display advertisements based on their current inventory levels, they need digital signage that can integrate with their inventory or point-of-sale (POS) software. 

Similarly, if a business wants to use digital signage to display advertisements while their business is open, but they also want to use the signage for corporate training after hours, they need to ensure the hardware can integrate with the systems they use for both of those functions. 

4. Utilizing content management software (CMS) 

Content management software (CMS) is what most businesses use to control their digital signage, but again, organizations have to ensure that their digital signs come with an easy-to-use CMS. Talk with your sales rep to ensure that the CMS can support your goals for the signage. For example, if you want to be able to display social media posts, you need a CMS that comes with a widget to support that process. 

In most cases, the people using the CMS have different levels of technical acumen, so they need software that is intuitive. For example, you should look for a CMS that comes with templates that allow you to drag and drop images, choose fonts, and easily create vibrant, compelling content.

5. Data safety

The data that flows between the CMS and other software and the sign itself must be protected. Organizations should ensure they have taken adequate efforts to prevent the risk of a security breach, and businesses in certain industries, such as education or finance, may need to meet specific industry regulations regarding data privacy and safety. 

6. High standards for reliability

Organizations want their signs to be reliable, and in addition to internal needs for reliability, they may also need to be reliable for external stakeholders. For example, an airport needs to be able to reliably post travel updates in real-time or travelers will not be able to get the information they need. 

Similarly, if a company is selling ad space on its digital signs to other businesses, it needs to be able to reliably display the ads to meet the expectations of its customers. Inability to do so can hurt the reputation of the sign's owner.

7. Connectivity issues

Organizations need to consider the role of connectivity in relation to the sign's reliability, but they also have to consider the logistics related to the cost and complexity of different connection methods. A wired LAN, for example, can cost hundreds of dollars per month per sign, whereas a landline may not cost as much per month but is often less reliable and may take weeks or months to install. 

Wi-Fi works for many digital signs, but users need to consider challenges related to security and bandwidth bottlenecks. Some digital signs can come with a data package from a cell phone network, but again, there can be bandwidth issues during times of high traffic on the network. 

Don't let these complexities scare you away from the potential of digital signage. Instead, choose a technology partner who can help you alleviate these issues and identify the most cost-effective strategy possible. 

Contact Unisol International to talk about digital signage today

If you're ready to invest in digital signage, we can help you scope out and quote the right technology to meet your needs, and if desired, we can also help you design, install, and set up your new digital signage. Don't let the changes of digital signage prevent you from bringing your business into the future -- let us help you. To learn more, contact us at Unisol International today.

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