Open Source & StudioLite: The Next Game-Changing Jump in Digital Signage
The lines between Open Source and Freemium are frequently blurred and even more frequently misunderstood. For the software journey at MediaSignage, the outgrowth of Open Source has been the next natural extension of the community which we have successfully started and hope to successfully take into the future of out-of-home.
Requests for access to the code and the ability to integrate our solutions into mobile, tablet, multi-screen and multi-touch environments, have created a natural demand for an open architecture. Thus, having the option for Open Source digital signage was a natural outgrowth of our current Freemium software model. It was certainly an easier jump for us than it may have been for many other enterprise competitors.
By making our code available for study, edit and distribution from other developers, we hope to more rapidly expand the solutions and features available to users of digital signage around the globe. It also coincides perfectly with our desire to flesh out the features best suited for every user, both entry-level and enterprise alike.
As our Open Source solution is underway, we’re also in rapid development of our Life version.
What is SignageStudio Lite and Why Does it Matter?
Studio Lite is the next extension in the SignageStudio evolution. From the beginning, our developers have worked to build an architecture that provided all the features which existed in the most robust enterprise digital signage software platform on the market. When you cater to the request of every Peter, Paul & Mary on the market, you eventually have a system with all the tools, but with a manual that can intimidate even even the heartiest of users. Hence our extensive training videos. Here are a few reasons “why” for SignageStudio Lite.
- It plays to our customer-base. Like any good politician, we appeal to everyone–and certainly our enterprise clients are where the revenues are gleaned–but our base of FREE clients is really where the demand and bulk of our users, hits and marketing is geared towards. The margins may be lower there, but so are the needs. Hence the need for a more simple, easy-to-use version of our flagship product.
- Simplicity sells. Most of our new customers are digital signage dummies. Not dummies themselves, but unlearned in the lingo of signage schooling. They need something that can give them immediate confidence that they can create and deploy content quickly and efficiently without the manual and the hours of video training needed to operate an extensive network of displays. Simplicity is the hook. Instead of us moving up-market on our customer acquisition strategy, we’re intent on moving up-market within our current customer-base–massaging them to the next level of signage software intelligence. The ease-of-use of the lite system is what will ultimately bring them in, however.
- Simplicity=Speed. Busy restaurant owners and other small business operators often like the idea of digital signage, but time is of the essence in small enterprises. When a simple system can save large amounts of upfront and ongoing management time, it’s a fortunate value-add for the SMB end-user that many signage software providers have failed to deliver.
- When There’s Demand, We Supply. A big part of our mantra here at MediaSignage is adding features our customers demand. More and more were looking for something with most of the features, but with an ease-of-use component that would make operating and getting a sign to go live a faster, simpler solution. With 99% of the features, but
- Solves at Least Part of the Content Conundrum. Like any good football team, going back to the fundamentals can be a critical game-changing shift. With the push for complex, interactive content these days, keeping things simple can often mean the difference between making an impact or making a whimper. Some of the best content is elegant, but extremely simple. It helps to keep the focus on the fundamentals of the message and not producing a wow-factor that’s detracts from communicating to actual humans.
Keep your eye one the latest releases here at MediaSignage. While still in Beta, the products will help to expand the use of digital signage technologies from the most simple single installation to a complex international rollout.
