Unlocking IT Efficiency: The Strategic Advantage of Digital Signage Consolidation

Saving time and saving money—businesses are constantly looking for ways to do both. In that pursuit, IT teams are often brought in to identify opportunities to consolidate technology and reduce overall spend.

One area for IT teams to look into is digital signage. Over the last 15 years, digital signage has become more prevalent across virtually every industry, and that growth has produced a number of niche signage vendors, which has, in turn, led companies of all sizes to have multiple digital signage vendors.

Yet, managing multiple digital signage platforms is a complex and costly endeavor. This is where IT can help. In this blog, I’m going to get into the reasons why consolidation is the right choice, and what to consider when it comes to choosing a single platform.

Why Companies Use Multiple Vendors for Digital Signage

Often, different departments within a company are unaware of the digital signage solutions already in place or believe that what exists simply won’t meet their needs. Both of these scenarios lead departments to seek out and purchase new solutions independently.

For example, a marketing team might purchase a specific digital signage solution for customer-facing displays, while the HR department might acquire a different system for internal communications. Yet, with an enterprise-grade platform, both of those applications—and many others—can be easily managed, with access to content management for each one segregated by department.

Sometimes, though, companies end up with multiple signage platforms due to mergers and acquisitions and other historical decisions. We often see legacy systems implemented years ago that are no longer the best fit for the company.

And, even more often than that, we see companies with multiple platforms due to the simple fact that not all people understand what digital signage is. Meeting room signs, menuboards, interactive directories, video walls, KPI displays, and more all fall into the digital signage category, but not everyone realizes that.

Think about a facility manager; they aren’t looking for digital signage—they just need meeting room signs and a few directories. So they might go out and find one provider for the room signs and another for the directories. Both applications can be run with a single platform, as can the applications needed by the marketing department, the HR team, and other teams within the company.

Yet, these teams don’t see it all as digital signage. They simply think about the things their team needs. In all of these scenarios, IT can be the team to bring order to the chaos.

The Benefits of Digital Signage Consolidation

While there are a few common reasons why companies end up with multiple digital signage vendors, the result often leads to inefficiencies, security vulnerabilities, and increased operational costs. By understanding the underlying reasons for this multiplicity, IT teams can take steps to consolidate their digital signage platforms, streamline operations, and enhance overall effectiveness.

Consolidation not only simplifies management but also ensures a cohesive and secure digital signage strategy that aligns with your organization's goals and objectives.

And that’s not where the benefits end—companies also benefit by:

Streamlining Governance and Compliance 
Governance and compliance are essential aspects of managing digital signage, especially for large enterprises. Multiple platforms can make it difficult to enforce governance policies and ensure compliance with industry regulations.

A consolidated platform allows for centralized governance, making it easier to implement and monitor compliance policies. This ensures that all content displayed on digital screens meets the organization's standards and regulatory requirements.

Centralized governance also enables organizations to maintain better control over their digital signage network. IT teams can set permissions and access controls to ensure that only authorized users can publish content, reducing the risk of unauthorized or inappropriate content being displayed.

Additionally, a unified platform can provide audit trails and reporting tools that help organizations track and document compliance with internal policies and external regulations.

By consolidating digital signage platforms, organizations can enhance their governance capabilities and ensure that their digital signage network operates securely and compliantly.

Moreover, a centralized content management system, like the one Poppulo provides, allows for granular governance. This means that content scheduling and management can fall to individual teams, leaving IT to manage the tech stack, not the content. Check it out here in this short video:

Enhancing IT Security 
IT security is a critical concern for any organization. Multiple digital signage platforms can introduce varying levels of security, making it difficult to enforce a consistent security posture. This inconsistency can create vulnerabilities that hackers might exploit.

Consolidating digital signage platforms allows IT teams to implement a unified security strategy, ensuring that all screens are protected by the same robust security measures. This reduces the risk of security breaches and simplifies the process of maintaining and updating security protocols.

A single, consolidated platform also makes it easier to monitor and manage security threats. IT teams can quickly identify and respond to potential vulnerabilities, minimizing the risk of data breaches and other security incidents.

Reducing Operational Costs 
Managing multiple digital signage platforms can be costly. Each platform may require its own set of licenses, maintenance contracts, and support services.

These costs can quickly add up, straining the IT budget. Consolidating digital signage platforms can reduce the number of licenses and maintenance contracts needed, leading to significant cost savings.

Additionally, IT teams can focus their efforts on a single platform, which leads to more efficient resource use and reduces the need for extensive training on multiple systems.

A consolidated platform can also reduce indirect costs associated with managing multiple systems. In addition to direct cost savings, IT teams can spend less time troubleshooting and resolving issues, leading to increased productivity and reduced downtime.

A single platform can also simplify procurement and vendor management processes, allowing organizations to negotiate better terms and pricing with a single vendor. Overall, consolidating digital signage platforms can help organizations optimize their IT budgets and allocate resources more effectively.

Facilitating Scalability 
As organizations grow, their digital signage needs will evolve—we see this constantly. We have clients like Delta who have been with us for over a decade, and the applications they initially deployed are a far cry from what they have today, as you can see here. We’ve seen clients go from deploying a handful of signs initially to now managing thousands of screens and applications—but not all platforms provide that degree of scalability.

Whether adding new screens, integrating with other systems, expanding to new locations, or adding new applications, a single platform can adapt more easily to changing requirements. This scalability ensures that the digital signage system can continue to meet the organization's needs without requiring a complete overhaul.

Conclusion 
The need for IT to consolidate digital signage platforms is clear. By streamlining content management, enhancing IT security, reducing operational costs, improving user experience, facilitating scalability, and enhancing governance and compliance, organizations can maximize the benefits of their digital signage investments.

Consolidation not only simplifies the management of digital signage but also ensures that the system can effectively support the organization's communication and operational goals.

As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of the digital landscape, a unified digital signage platform will be a critical asset in achieving success.

Putting a Bow On It
Consolidating digital signage platforms is a smart move for IT teams. Think about it—by bringing everything under one roof, you’re not just making life easier for your content managers, you’re also beefing up security, cutting down on costs, improving the user experience, and making it a breeze to scale up. Plus, you remove governance and compliance concerns. Smart.

With one platform, managing your digital signage becomes a walk in the park. If you’re looking for a single platform, look closer at Poppulo. You’ll get a robust system capable of supporting your organization’s communication and operational goals across as many endpoints and applications as you need today or tomorrow. Interested in learning more? Reach out!