Digital Signage is one of the primary forms of communication between customer and businesses today. Gone are the days when distributing pamphlets and sticking posters was the most important aspect when it comes to promoting your products or services. LED boards and computer screens have replaced posters and pamphlets as they are interactive and reusable. Digital Signage Software tools help manage and solve all your signage issues involving digital platforms and devices. Product placement and advertising are kingmakers in the sales and services world today. Digital Signage is the tool that makes you king. That makes a great Digital Signage Software tool at your disposal the ultimate weapon.
Digital Signage is very effectively used for public service and guiding as well. Digital signboards are being installed even by public authorities and governments to guide and inform people about certain important topics such as transport, healthcare and share market updates. Signboards for famous monuments and public places too have become quite popular, which are managed by authorities using large scale digital signage software tools. Digital Signage in this modern world is as important as manufacturing or marketing as if you cannot project and promote your product or service in the right way to the customers, and then there will not be a great market response.
Digital Signage is effective and attractive and catches the eyes of the customer or viewer in a single instance. This makes it one of the most critical message delivery mediums in today’s world, where visual appeal is king, and it takes a second for a person to judge your product or service.
Features of Digital Signage Software Tools:
- Media Player: Digital Signage Software tools are used to cast, stream or project media formats on screens of all sizes and shapes. Videos and images are available in a range of formats these days and the digital signage software tools are capable enough to stream them in formats they are in. This saves time and enables seamless functioning.
- Content Scheduling: Another convenient feature of Digital Signage Software tools is the scheduling of content and media. This saves a lot of time and resource for the business. This saves users from continuous updating and uploading of content and you can plan and schedule content according to your needs.
- Content Management: A Digital Signage Software tool will categorize and manage your content according to your convenience and parameters. All modern software tools ensure the optimum utilization of resources. To achieve optimum utilization, you need to categorize and distribute content and task related to them accordingly. Digital Signage Software ensures these tasks are automated according to the parameters set by the user.
- Device Management: When a task involves the use of multiple devices at one go, device management is essential. A Digital Signage Software tool manages devices in such a way that you get the most out of them even by utilizing the least amount of resources. A Digital Signage Software tool can manage an array of devices whether it is portable devices such as cell phones, tablets to large bulky displays such as LED screens and boards.
- Product Placement: This feature is very vital for sales and service establishments. Digital Signage Software tools can very effectively place your products and services within sight of potential customers. Projection and promotion of your products is vital for sales businesses such as restaurants and stores. Menus and discount features are the most commonly promoted features in restaurants and stores. This helps in attracting more customers and even keeps the customers within the establishment have all the necessary information.
The top 7 Free and Open Source Digital Signage Software Tools are:
- Concerto
- Screenly OSE
- Xibo
- Rise Vision
- Display Monkey
- Pi Signage
- Info Beamer
Comparative Analysis
Let’s discuss the listed software tools in further detail.
1. Concerto
(Source: Concerto)
Features
- APT-based Linux system
- Content scheduling
- Multi-screen support
- Simple and Fluid UI
- Can cast multiple formats
Concerto is a web-based Linux Digital Signage Software tool that was developed in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by students and is constantly under development at the very same institute still. Concerto is perfect for small to medium businesses as it manages signage on a medium scale very effectively. Concerto has convenient features such as content scheduling to save time and workload. Concerto has support across multiple formats and cast most of them available on the internet. Concerto is one of the most compact and simple digital signage software in the market and its simple yet effective approach makes it one of the most popular software tools in this category.
2. Screenly OSE
(Source: Screenly)
Conclusion
Digital Signage in the modern world can make or break your business strategy. A digital signage software tool is essential if you run a business involving any product or services. Digital signage has become a vital element in public service announcements and public service as well. With a range of different devices at your disposal, it becomes very difficult to manage them as different devices have different requirements. Along with different devices, we have different platforms as well today. Windows, Ubuntu, Mac OS is just to name a few. A Digital Signage Software goes on to solve all these issues and provides seamless integration from one device to another and also from one platform to another. Cloud integration is another important aspect when it comes to content management.
Almost all digital signage software tools today are cloud-based which provides a secure working environment for your enterprise, without the risk of losing content and data. All the mentioned digital signage software tools in the blog are very efficient when you are managing a small to medium businesses which have a medium amount of workload and not too much stream content. Some can work very effectively even for large enterprises and businesses. And the best part being, they are free and open source, enabling you to customize it according to the needs of your business. There are also paid and premium digital signage software tools available on the Internet, mainly used by big enterprises with extreme workload and an enormous amount of stream content. You can always go for premium services if you have greater requirements and capital in hand.
For more information regarding digital signage software tools, including premium options, you can click here.
