Themes - Digital Signage Summit Europe

Explore DSS Europe’s themes

Content is split across four key themes that allow you to explore the diverse topics addressed during the conference.

Digital Signage Business Critical

Business critical use cases are the latest evolution stage of Digital Signage (DS 4.0). They can be found throughout a wide range of verticals in retail and beyond, for example in manufacturing, quick service restaurants (QSR), cinemas, airports, corporate and workplace environments, or in command & control centres.

While they are relatively easy to spot – if the DS system fails the location has to be closed – these business critical systems are hard to create, to implement, and to operate. They require new approaches to concepts, services, and operations, such as more dense support networks and a shift from reactive to preventive maintenance.

Most integrators will find that they need new partnerships and ecosystems in order to be able to offer business critical solutions. In addition, a whole new set of requirements for IT security and privacy needs to be fulfilled. But the potential rewards are big, as the focus will shift from one-time installation to ongoing operations and services – recurring revenues and strategic lock-in are the magic terms to describe these key business benefits.

The role of concepts and content – Creating experiences for the real world and the Metaverse

As humans, we love to experience our surroundings in three dimensions; however, our digital world – whether online/mobile or in digital signage – is still very two-dimensional. So it’s no surprise that the latest content hype is all about 3D. In the physical world it comes in the form of ‘holograms’, ‘teleportation’, or 3D effects, realised with LED rotors, transparent boxes, or forced perspective LEDs. Their purely digital counterparts are VR, the Metaverse, and avatars based on technologies like 3D goggles, Web 3.0 or NFTs (to sort out ownership). What all these approaches have in common is that they are trying to create immersive experiences for users.
But beyond the hype, there is also still a lot of potential in the two-dimensional world of traditional digital signage, for instance with data-driven solutions that can range from art to dashboards, or programmatic campaigns. The technologies for these applications are much more commonplace, but still far from being a standard for the digital signage industry.

Digital Signage Industry Trends

The digital signage industry is transforming at an unseen speed. New IT integrators are entering the market and pan-European consolidation is shaking it up, while new technologies and supply chain bottlenecks are creating new challenges. At ISE 2022 in Barcelona, the industry presented new solutions focused on simplifying digital signage. SoC is becoming more powerful, and Google launched a new B2B operating system catering for digital signage and kiosk networks. The software world is shifting towards headless CMS, cloud service-based platforms and enhanced remote device management solutions, while MicroLED is on its way to disrupt the visual solution industry.

In summary, exciting times lie ahead for the digital signage industry. DSS will discuss trends and drivers with global thought leaders.

Green Signage

The global drive for sustainability – to reduce carbon footprint and embark into the circular economy – is leaving its mark on digital signage. Even last year, every second RFP in Europe required integrators to offer the most sustainable solutions available. While a LED wall or LCD display will never become green, operating networks more energy-efficiently and extending the lifecycle of hardware is a sensible option. Even existing networks can be operated more sustainably by turning screens and players off completely at night, activating brightness sensors and refurbishing hardware.

Repair, refurbish and reuse while reducing total cost of ownership – green signage is now more important than ever. DSS will present insights and hands-on advice of how to make digital signage a lot greener. Join DSS panels and workshops with industry experts discussing the latest in green signage.