Exploring Samsung’s VXT platform model
Samsung has shaken up the digital signage world with its VXT platform, which has brought an app store model to the industry. At the DS Tech Forum, delegates heard how the platform’s adoption by one of its partners, LDSK, is beneficial to both companies.
Samsung has been in display software since 2008, with its MagicInfo CMS. Additionally, its Tizen operating system has around 1300 value-added reseller partners in Europe alone, said William Sam, Head of Platform Solutions Market Development & Integration at Samsung. The vision behind VXT (‘visual experience transformation’) is to exploit what Samsung hardware can do in conjunction with independent software vendor partners. At the same time, the goal was to bring the ISV and Tizen reseller communities together.
LDSK, whose intelligent media scheduling platform help retail media owners to monetise their networks, has been a Samsung ISV partner since 2017. Keni Bernardin, co-founder & CEO, explained that working with VXT helps LDSK in three ways. First, the manufacturer has capabilities in areas that his company does not, such as installation and device monitoring. Second, the VXT platform enables LDSK to reach a much broader audience, and take advantage of the reseller network. And third, because of the standardisation of the platform, support is greatly simplified.
How broad an audience are we talking about? Sam mentioned that there are 1.1 billion Samsung Account holders worldwide – and while these are B2C mobile phone customers, many of them also operate in a B2B environment. As well as the phone business generating sales leads, small business owners who know nothing about AV and look at Samsung retail TVs for digital signage at Samsung.com can get a message prompting them to explore VXT through their Samsung Account.
Session moderator Sian Rees, founder and owner, Peregrine Vision, asked: who brings business to who? Both speakers agreed that it was a two-way street.
The end goal, said Sam, is to help Samsung’s partners reach new markets. “The whole point is end-user experience. There is a pool of talent in this room – different ways of doing things, and we want our end-users to have access to that pool. That’s the spirit of VXT.”
