Over the years, out-of-home (OOH) campaigns have evolved from printed signage or billboards to getting more digital—DOOH. Digital signage has grown in popularity among businesses and it’s not just limited to primary use cases like QSR chains and retail stores. Time to explore how digital signage with MDM can be a winning combination.
What is Digital Signage?
Digital signage is a digital screen that displays content in the form of information, messages, videos, or presentations. The content is pushed to the device over the air using mobile device management (MDM) solutions. With an MDM, digital signage can be configured and provisioned remotely.
Digital signage solution provides the advantage of displaying information electronically over-the-air, and hence, has huge potential for all kinds of businesses. However, Android, Windows, or iOS-based devices can be used as digital signage only by locking them down to kiosk mode using an MDM solution. The kiosk mode enables devices to be used to their full potential for dedicated purposes, which can then be efficiently managed by IT administrators.
Types of Digital Signage
Digital signage can vary in the form of devices, displays, and purposes. Its displays can range from LCD, plasma, or modern LED derivatives like OLED, AMOLED, and QLED. They can be interactive, dynamic, or automated as well, while input methods are generally touchscreen type when devices serve interactive purposes like customer feedback or surveys. Devices could be kiosk-mode consoles, wayfinding standees, standalone TVs, mounted tablets, etc.
How Does Digital Signage Work?
Digital signage suits public spaces that have a large footfall. Its displays are managed using an MDM solution in kiosk mode, which ensures devices run for a dedicated purpose. MDM offers extensive kiosk management features that find applications in different industries.
Digital signage is in absolute control of marketers. IT administrators can easily configure these devices to kiosk mode and manage the content on these devices. The content can be easily edited or updated remotely using an MDM dashboard. Devices are locked down to presentation mode in which they can’t exit the screen in kiosk mode. Additionally, MDM allows remote control of on and off functions of digital signage devices.
Digital signage software supports multiple file formats like PNG, JPEG, JPG, GIF, and MP4 files for display on devices. In some cases, you might need to change the file format for readability. Content can be projections in the form of presentations and played in a loop without any manual intervention. Time intervals can be set for ads to run as screensavers. Landscape mode on devices also helps improve engagement. Businesses can use digital signage as screening devices or media players to stream live content as well. You can also integrate content from third-party apps.
As digital signage runs on unattended devices, troubleshooting them proves to be a major challenge. However, with an MDM solution, active screens of devices are mirrored on the centralized MDM dashboard to gather real-time information, take screenshots, and sync files to resolve device issues or raise tickets.
Benefits of Digital Signage Solutions in Business
Mobile devices, when used in kiosk mode, work as digital signage and have applications in various industries. It’s apt in high-footfall areas for either advertisement or information purposes.
Some applications in different industries are:
- Digital signage is useful in advertising or branding for any business. It makes use of interesting content and interactive digital signage to communicate with the audience for a long-lasting impression. In general, such signage is set up in malls, stores, restaurants, cafes, hotel lobbies, and waiting lounges.
- It can be used in retail stores to either advertise or display product information.
- It can be used at transport hubs like airports, railway stations, malls, and bus stations to display schedules, departures, and arrivals.
- It can be used to display temperature and pollution-related details at various locations in the city.
- Work as digital signs to display information in universities, schools, malls, and stadiums for wayfinding.
- Display manufacturing-related information on production floors.
- It can serve as digital menus or tariff cards for restaurants and hotels.
Revolutionizing Digital Displays through Mobile Device Management (MDM)
MDM-managed digital signage can help businesses drive branding campaigns in a seamless manner. Let’s take a look at some of the maximizing MDM benefits for digital signage.
Content Management
Digital content needs to be pushed on unattended devices securely, and this is possible with an MDM solution that allows remote management of any form of content on devices. So, whatever industry it may be, a remote digital signage content management system saves IT admins from the hassle of reaching these devices individually to update or manage the content. It reduces the stress of visiting the device sites every time you need to change the content on the device.
Location Tracking
As digital signage functions as unattended kiosk devices, it’s extremely important for IT admins to track these devices for their safety and security. MDM not just locks devices to the kiosk mode, but also tracks them. It gives complete visibility of the device fleet using features like geofencing and GPS-based location tracking.
Remote Troubleshooting
Digital signage devices are set up in remote locations that IT admins can’t reach each time physically. In such cases, troubleshooting the devices can become a major challenge without MDM. IT admins can remotely cast and control the devices and mirror device screens to sync files and troubleshoot the issue through an MDM dashboard. This saves a lot of time and effort while digital signage runs uninterrupted, fulfilling the dedicated purpose.
Device Security
MDM offers several security features to ensure secure deployment of kiosk devices for various business use cases. The security features can be easily configured using a central, unified MDM dashboard. The security features cover network security policies, such as firewalls and VPNs, strong passcode policies, and data encryption policies, so that there is no scope for data leaks.
Continuous Monitoring
MDM analytics helps view and monitor remote devices for device health and usage. Detailed device-level reports can be obtained based on vitals like data usage, battery usage, device activity, and security breaches, if any. An MDM dashboard provides compliance violation details and helps in continuous monitoring of devices at a granular level.
Automation of Tasks
Routine IT tasks can be easily automated using an MDM dashboard. Automation of tasks includes pushing content and routine app updates, OS updates, switching devices on and off, pre-scheduling tasks, and device booting, to name a few. As the devices are located in remote locations, task automation simplifies workflows to get the best out of devices.
Last words…
Whatever the industry application, digital signage saves time and effort for businesses when used with an MDM. MDM centralizes device management and monitoring of digital signage without compromising on usage or security. Digital signage is extensively used in retail, hospitality, and healthcare, and its application will increase in the coming years as digitalization continues to spread.
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