Digital signage content suffers from the same ailment that web browsers did in the early 1990's... a complete lack of agreed upon standards with which new technologies and content can/should be created. A lack of standards creates an environment where each technology provider is working in a vacuum resulting in industry uncertainty and significant migration issues.
We need a organization like W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) to develop a set of standards for digital signage so that we, as an industry, can work toward enhancing content rather than developing yet another new way to approach digital signage technology. While there isn't a W3C of digital signage with an established set of industry standards, there are a number of groups that are beginning to make significant headway in this regard.
POPAI, the global association for marketing at retail, has taken it upon themselves to become this consortium. They have brought technology providers together to publish standards on hardware and protocols, and recently they have begun working on software standards. I commend the efforts POPAI has taken, and it will certainly help the industry mature.
Additionally, the Digital Signage Association (DSA) has established the Content Committee to be a guide for "Best Practices" for creating content. Both of these groups are making big strides toward building a foundation for digital signage technology and content.
The most important action a digital signage company can take is to be involved with the standards process, because as we begin to see adoption of hardware and software standards across the industry content will become much easier to create and manage. We must get to the point where a single piece of content can be created and used on multiple networks, and digital signage technology becomes as transparent as web technology. We still have quite a long way to go.
We need a organization like W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) to develop a set of standards for digital signage so that we, as an industry, can work toward enhancing content rather than developing yet another new way to approach digital signage technology. While there isn't a W3C of digital signage with an established set of industry standards, there are a number of groups that are beginning to make significant headway in this regard.
POPAI, the global association for marketing at retail, has taken it upon themselves to become this consortium. They have brought technology providers together to publish standards on hardware and protocols, and recently they have begun working on software standards. I commend the efforts POPAI has taken, and it will certainly help the industry mature.
Additionally, the Digital Signage Association (DSA) has established the Content Committee to be a guide for "Best Practices" for creating content. Both of these groups are making big strides toward building a foundation for digital signage technology and content.
The most important action a digital signage company can take is to be involved with the standards process, because as we begin to see adoption of hardware and software standards across the industry content will become much easier to create and manage. We must get to the point where a single piece of content can be created and used on multiple networks, and digital signage technology becomes as transparent as web technology. We still have quite a long way to go.
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