|
Newsletter Archives
Digital Signage: Native
v. Web
 When asked about the
digital signage market, Melissa Webster, an analyst with independent
research firm IDC, was quoted in January 2007 as saying “There are more
than 150 vendors who make software and media players, and most are under
$10 million in revenue." A number of industry observers believe that
there are more than 300 firms developing hardware and software for the
digital signage market.
The popular digital
signage website digitalsignageuniverse.com takes the estimates a step
further by documenting 92 Windows-based native applications, 55
web-based applications, 6 Linux and 3 Macintosh based products.
Assuming the information is accurate, of the 156 documented vendors, 58%
are delivering native solutions while 35% are providing web-based
solutions.
In the digital signage world, which is better?
The operational tasks
most affected by the user interface (UI) occur during the content
creation and management processes. The user experience could be shaped
significantly by the UI selection and there are pros and cons to each
offering.
If you expect to create
content using the digital signage software you select, you will find
more powerful creation tools in native applications. A lot of the
functionality you find in applications like Adobe Photoshop® can be
easily integrated into native applications. For a number of technical
reasons, it is much more difficult to embed complex design tools in a
browser.
Web browsers began as
document viewers. Over time, different technical adaptations have been
applied to browsers to enable them to host functionality that emulates
native applications. Technologies like browser plug-ins and
SmartClients that were once popular are now frowned upon by most IT
departments because of tightening security standards. Technologies that
rely on scripting and ever-growing browser object models, like AJAX, are
pushing the boundaries of what browsers can do, but these technologies
cannot yet effectively emulate smooth drag-and-drop and drawing
functionality. Adobe Flash® and Microsoft Silverlight® are browser
plug-ins allowed by most IT departments that might someday bridge the
gap between Web and native user experiences.
The downside of relying
on a native digital signage application as a content creation platform
is that it is proprietary and the pool of people familiar with the
application is probably very small. Utilizing popular content creation
applications like Photoshop®, Flash® and even PowerPoint® provides you
with more flexibility and a larger pool of experienced users. Virtually
all of the native applications will allow you to import content from
third party applications, but you should consider the expense of the
propriety platform if you do not intend to use it for creation.
Consider the total cost
of ownership when evaluating the two interfaces. With most traditional
software licenses, users pay a licensing fee for each machine running
the application. A majority of the web-based solutions do not charge
for the number of users accessing the application, but charge a one-time
fee for the application itself. The SaaS or ASP models are completely
different and may require unique users to pay a fee to access the
application. If you intend to have only one or two people creating or
managing content, then consider a native application. If you expect a
larger number of people to contribute to the content creation process,
you should evaluate web-based solutions.
There are no real
differences between web and native interfaces when it comes to content
management. Calendars, play lists, tickers, data sources, playback
tracking and the manipulation of these elements can be easily managed
through either interface. Through a browser, however, users can manage
content from anywhere via the Web. Accessibility, particularly in the
event of an emergency, gives the web-based UI a significant advantage.
Regardless of your UI
selection, the solution you choose should accommodate the most common
functional requirements. At a minimum, the product should support data
feeds (RSS, XML, FTP and others), popular file formats (Flash®, MPEG,
JPG and others), remote diagnostics, scalability (N-tier), user and role
administration, layout management and content purge services.
Before evaluating native
or web-based solutions, you need to define what you expect to accomplish
with the technology. The goals of corporate and campus communicators
are much different than those of retailers, hospitals or public venues.
Once you have the objectives clearly defined, you have to create content
that allows you to measure the effectiveness of your message or
campaign. In short, be prepared to create with measurement in mind.
See this
article in the March 2008 Systems Contractor News Digital Signage
Comparison Guide
Copyright 2008. Visix, Inc. All rights reserved.
|
