Do you associate Dell with digital signage? Dell OEM Solutions was selected by Tripleplay Services, a provider of IPTV, Video Streaming and Digital Signage solutions, to provide a back-end hardware platform, including the OEM-ready Dell PowerEdge R710 and T110 servers.

Founded in 2001, Tripleplay Services has an impressive customer base across 33 countries. Tripleplay claims the largest IPTV deployment within the UK with over 200,000 client devices supported within closed communities and the largest deployment of HD streaming and IPTV servers for any single customer in Europe.

Tripleplay’s relationship with Dell OEM Solutions has already proved instrumental in a number of significant customer wins, with particular traction within stadia, education and retail sectors. (Tripleplay’s customers in these markets include: Chelsea FC and the Green Point and Port Elizabeth 2010 World Cup stadia in South Africa, Sheffield Hallam, Portsmouth and Southampton Solent Universities and London School of Economics, Dixons/Currys and several hospitality solutions in major 4 and 5 stars hotels around the world.)

“Tripleplay’s solutions are a great example of a widely-deployed technology, which people might be surprised to find out is powered by Dell OEM Solutions,” says Sam Forsbom, general manager, OEM Solutions EMEA at Dell. “However, the fact that we are powering digital signage technology in a number of very high-profile customer deployments shows how invaluable our combination of technology and services can be to organizations like Tripleplay looking for ways to facilitate business transformation.”

Go Tripleplay Services

Go Dell OEM Solutions blog

Go Dell Digital Signage

YCD Multimedia buys C-nario and pockets a new $6 million fundraising round from the venture capital companies involved.

This is another consolidation that delineates the digital signage industry’s need to grow bigger players, players that can offer end-to-end solutions that encompass everything from content management to measurement and analytics.

This acquisition and the funding will expand its reach to serve more than 2000 brands, including leading Fortune 500 global brands, in over 40 countries worldwide. The company also hopes to deliver a complete brand experience in the retail industry as well as in other market segments.

YCD will continue to provide support to both YCD and C-nario customers. Noam Levavi, co-founder and CEO of YCD will continue to lead the combined entity from its NYC headquarters.

Go YCD Buys C-Nario

It was one of those moments when you could hear a pin drop. Scala CEO Gerard Bucas had just finished telling the International Scala Conference about Scala’s record-breaking growth in sales (up 65% in August from last year’s August) when he dropped the bombshell. After 9-1/2 years at the helm of Scala, Bucas stood on stage and announced his retirement. (He will remain on the Scala Board of Directors.)

Next on stage came Tom Nix, the new CEO starting November 1st.

“… Scala is leading the shift to digital signage’s next stage where companies exploit their ability to connect to virtually any data source using almost any device. These devices can range from mobile applications, like tablets and smart phones, to CxO boards that provide real-time management information by consolidating and displaying a custom broadcast channel of key performance metrics from customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning packages such as Salesforce.com and Oracle,” says Nix.

Nix was previously VP Americas and Oceania, responsible for Scala’s sales, services and support operations in those regions.

“Tom Nix brings the vision and skills that Scala needs to capture the rapidly emerging market opportunity to help organizations integrate data with digital communications and devices to connect more closely with key audiences,” says Carol Armitage, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Scala. “We want to thank Gerard Bucas for building the technical and operational foundation that will enable us to launch Scala on to its next strong growth phase.”

Driving more than 500,000 screens worldwide, Scala has more than 500 partners in more than 90 countries. More on the International Scala Conference in next week’s rAVe Europe.

Go Tom Nix, new Scala CEO

When will Visix be purchased by someone like AMX, Extron, NEC or Scala? It's just a matter of time!

Inc. magazine today ranked Visix, a digital signage software provider, no. 3479 on its fifth annual Inc. 500|5000, an exclusive ranking of Americ's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy — America’s independent entrepreneurs. This is Visix’s 5th consecutive year appearing on the list. Visix is ranked 238 in the software industry category.

This year, Visix released its first fully localizable digital signage application for international deployments, a new interactive wayfinding product, a Twitter board digital sign, and bolstered their creative services and consulting efforts.

Go Visix earns place on annual Inc. 500|5000 list

by Dave Haynes, Editor, Sixteen:Nine

The kinds of people who keep debating what the digital signage industry should call itself are the same people who made you crazy at corporate offsite meetings as they turned those dreaded “Mission Statement” exercises into all-morning marathons.

These are people who like jumbling words together and then holding them up like they just modeled something out of clay.

They make me crazy.

The digital signage industry IS the digital signage industry. You can go ahead and conjure up some pretty, mind-blowing word-salad handle for it, but that is not going to change anything. It’s FAR from perfect. But Digital Signage is baked in.

So is Digital Out Of Home. That’s an even clunkier term, but the advertising agency people who control millions upon millions of media dollars have settled on it. There are ongoing attempts to call it something else -- notably, digital place-based advertising -- but that’s not really catching on. The agency people call it Digital Out Of Home (or DOOH) because they already call the billboard and poster business Out Of Home (as in people consuming media outside their homes), and the LED and LCD stuff now popping up like weeds is just the Digital extension. To them, it’s logical.

I write all this because everyday, these two handles are getting mishandled. Everyday, I read stuff talking about DOOH as though it is just another way of describing digital signage. Like they are interchangeable. Everyday, I see stuff about “digital signage advertising” and “DOOH networks” for universities and private companies.

Sheesh.

If you are talking about the software and technology that puts content on screens, and the ecosystem that drives and supports all that, you are talking about digital signage. If you are talking about networks that run alerts and safety messages on campuses, schedules in event centers, prices on menu boards and sales promos in stores, among MANY things, you are talking about digital signage networks.

If you are talking about the networks that exist officially (or less overtly) for the purposes of making money from selling advertising -- and about the eco-system that drives and feeds those efforts -- you are talking Digital Out Of Home.

It’s actually quite simple. So why it gets mixed up and misused so often completely escapes me. And this is not just my little semantics rant. The agency people are steadily demanding clarity from the ad network operators who want their money. When they see an industry driving around in cars and talking about their trucks, they just roll their eyes. They are demanding complicated stuff like solid, professionally validated audience metrics from networks... from an industry that can’t yet reliably get its name right.

Go More news on Digital Signage

Build it and they shall come…by boat, of course. 8,500 competitors, 100,000 spectators come for the sailing, to enjoy the parties and live entertainment, and to experience the atmosphere of UK’s 180-year old sailing regatta, Cowes Week 2011.

This year an 80 sq m LED screen on Cowes Esplanade faced out to sea for an inaugural open water cinema experience. And, by public voting, the film they wanted to see was: Master and Commander.

Hundreds of boats dropped anchor to enjoy the from-the-sea showing of Master and Commander. Cowes Radio transmitted the audio for the film was with small radios distributed to the on-board movie watchers in the boats.

The 80 sq m screen, erected by Big Screen Media, weighed in at 4.5 tons, required 90 modular panels, appropriate structural support and the expertise of a structural engineer.

Big Screen Media also supplied four large LED screens for Cowes Yacht Haven, Shepards Wharf, and The Parade. These screens were linked to sister company TKZ Media’s network of iZonescreens and a large number of other screens at key venues around Cowes and East Cowes.

For the first time ever, the official dedicated broadcast channel for Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, EventTV, was distributed across this network of 40+ screens showing live footage of race results, daily highlights, news, and shore-side information.

Watch Slideshow of the Construction of the Sail-in Cinema

Go More on Cinema at Sea in Cowes

While digital signage created buzz at InfoComm, the Platt Retail Institute was finishing off its North American Digital Signage Index. And this report now shows Q1 faced the first drop in seven quarters!

On the show floor, companies like Black Box iCOMPEL saw large crowds gathered around their stand where the iCOMPEL platform recognized the members of those crowds and rotated advertising appropriately. Despite the state-of-the-art feature on display, iCOMPEL’s all-in-one integrated hardware/software solution mostly features an affordable digital signage solution. And that drew crowds at InfoComm.

EnQii Holdings and Minicom Digital Signage (MDS) merge companies to create a global leader in multichannel message management and a platform in a complex marketplace.

“This is an exciting milestone for the industry as it creates a true global powerhouse providing an integrated suite of hardware, software and services required for the best digital signage deployments going forward,” says Ajay Chowdhury, CEO of the new venture and former CEO of EnQii. “I am particularly excited with our new solutions such as IP Streaming, mobile and web linkages and the ability to provide proof of performance for signage networks.”

Headquartered in New York City, EnQii-MDS will operate from six offices around the world and a global network of dedicated partners that includes 150 worldwide distributors serving thousands of resellers and system integrators.

“This strategic move creates a powerful vertical solution in an industry that has been plagued by complexity,” states Ronni Guggenheim, President of EnQii-MDS and former CEO of Minicom Digital Signage. “This gives us a deeper base to continue to provide compelling innovations in this rapidly growing industry to our current and future partners across the globe.”

Led by a veteran team of industry innovators, EnQii-MDS sets a new standard that will provide focused expertise that larger players cannot deliver. In addition to the officers previously mentioned, Shlomo Nimrodi, has been named Chairman. Stuart Armstrong and Amir Shaked have been tapped to lead the US business and Max Stevens-Guille will lead the Canadian business. In Israel Ofer Dar will act as the Group’s CFO, Moti Guberman will be in charge of operations and Mordehay Hilu will drive the R&D.

Gadi Tirosh, General Partner at JVP and Chairman of MDS concluded: “When we invested in MDS over a year ago, we clearly identified the potential of leveraging MDS’ unique market position and channels as a platform for further growth -- organically and through M&A. This merger is the realization of this strategy creating the most prominent, fastest growing market leader.”

EnQii-MDS will provide marketers with an end-to-end solution encompassing distribution, content management and proof-of-performance - while reducing capital and operational costs.

Go EnQii and MDS