Rules of the Game: What Do You Think or Ask About Before Buying Digital Signage Software?
April 7, 2009
Did Dave Haynes (aka: @sixteennine) jump ship and ditch one of my faves; www.sixteen-nine.net ?? Nah, although I think he is spreading his wings and knowledge by also writing for Web 2.0 Journal as well now. Not sure if this is his debuting article at Web 2.0, but it is certainly the first one I have seen, and whichever case; it is a Gem as usual. In his 4.6.2009 article, “Making the Right Digital Signage Software Decisions,” Mr. Haynes discusses 20 points that any individual or organization needs to consider and ask about before making the oh so serious decision of picking the right content delivery software for your network. Consider this the Ultimate Check List that you will absolutely need as you consider your options: (Go to the article for further details on each of the 20 factors)
1 – Avoid relying on reports, ratings and rankings lists
2 – Look at the track record
3 – Insist on references
4 – Test drive
Get a production account on a managed platform, or an eval license on shrink-wrapped software. Use it, learn it.
5 – Create a minor calamity
Screw something up in your testing and then ask for help and support. Nothing catastrophic, just a problem needing help.
6 – What do they really do
The big thing I hear over and over again is turnkey solution. Find out what that means, and how much is REALLY done in-house and how much turnkey is really just outsourced, with 15% added on. Some companies base a lot of their revenue on margin from hardware and service fees.
7 – Is there a development roadmap?
8 – Ask for a current staff list
9 – What’s the process?
How is the product developed, tested and released. Are there formalized release processes? What’s the timing?
10 – Forget the shiny buttons and dancing bears
There’s usually a reason something is graphically pretty and dead easy to use. It doesn’t actually do much. While the user experience is important, and I think sometimes given short-shrift by developers, the real keys to software in this space are:
- stability of the platform and particularly the playback engine
- efficiency for industrial use: as the network gets bigger, does the workload also grow at that rate? If so, move on
- accountability: what reporting can be extracted from the system, and at what level of granularity? Doers that reporting match up with your needs. Your target industry’s needs?11 – Don’t get hung up on the gadgets
I remember a Dali-esque episode about five years ago when my fledgling company almost lost a contract because a new competitor came in and said it could do its network delivery using Wi-Fi. I said, “Yeah, so?”
12 – What’s your vertical?
As a sales slob, my job is to get people to buy my stuff. But I emphatically believe the best sales people are those who don’t mercilessly try to pound their square peg into the round hole of an opportunity.
13 – Does it suit YOUR customers’ needs?
The biggest networks out there are supported by advertisers or brands, and prosper or perish at the whim of the media planning and brand communities. They have their own language, and expectations around things like audience measurement.
14 – Open sesame
Is the architecture open, so that if you need functionality that the software vendor is not going to get to anytime soon, the tools and hooks are in place to allow you or a third-party to get that bit done? Ask if they have an API, and what it is for.
15 – Is it safe?
If your network is compromised, you are either dead or breathing badly. Look for a solution that encrypts all the control data and protects against tampering.
16 – What model works for your business?
There are two core approaches to software these days – shrink-wrapped or managed. With shrink-wrapped, you buy it once and pay an annual license/support fee. You almost always run the platform on your own servers, and have IT people making things tick. With managed, also known as Software as a Service, you effectively rent the software and the platform, and all the services are covered. Your in-house IT needs are minimal.
17 – Player, heal thyself
The big, largely hidden cost with these networks is with field maintenance.
18 – Future-friendly
This is a very fast-moving industry and the lines with other media are blurring, as well as with other technology.
19 – Consider the circumstances
Are you going to be using cellular for broadband? If so, are the best compression codecs supported by the software? If not, think about what that means for your per site broadband bill (which will be ugly). Do you want to work with GPS? Do you need triggering of content? And on and on. There’s often MUCH more involved than getting something to play ads over and over.
20 – What does your exit strategy look like?
And Dave Haynes hits again!
Entry Filed under: Digital Signage Software & Solutions. Tags: Buying Digital Signage Software, Dave Haynes, sixteen:nine, Software Considerations and questions, Web 2.0 Journal.
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