Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Last year thirty was, for us. a convenient number to narrow down the hundreds of digital signage software vendors to BUT this year we bring you only twenty seven that we would recommend people work with.
The minor changes in the list are either because of acquisition (C-nario was acquired by YCD for example), those who have gone out of business (Camvine though actually they never made it into our original top 30) and many who have gone so quiet, often running their business with a skeleton staff and are little more than ‘walking dead’.
We have also brought a couple of companies into the list – folks like DV Signage who have recently upped their game (thanks mainly to Bob Michaels and some smart joint ventures) and we’d now be happy to recommend.
Remember that we haven’t ranked the list in any order other than ALPHABETICAL. Out of the hundreds of products on the market these are the ones that we use as a starting point when looking at what to recommend to others. These recommendations are usually based on a vertical, for example, a need in advertising (DOOH), airports (FIDS), billboards, corporate communication, education, retail, stadiums etc. or as a geographical recommendation (for example when asked “who best to work with in Scandinavia?”).
So, in alphabetical order here are the top 27 companies that in some circumstances we would be happy to recommend to others…
1080Dots
Adflow Networks
BARCO dZine
BroadSign
ComQi (formerly Enqii)†
CoolSign†
C-nario†
Digital View DV Signage†
DISE
Dynamax†
Four Winds Interactive
Harris Broadcast†
Hiperwall
Mermaid vTouch Pro
Nanonation
Navori QL†
NCR NetKey†
NEOCAST (from Real Digital Media)
Net Display Systems PADS
Omnivex
ONELAN†
Scala†
SignageLive†
Splash Digital Player (from Ayuda Media Systems)†
Starmount Systems1
STRATACACHE†
Symon Dacon
Thinxtream Technologies2
Vista Spyder (from Christie Digital†)
VUKUNET† (NEC)
WireSpring†
X20
YCD Multimedia
~Sedna Presenter
There’s no room on our (recommended) list for 121View, Acquire, Cayin, Cisco, DGScreen†, MediaTile, Noventri, Park Media, Reflect Systems, Ryarc, Sony Ziris, WebDT, Wireless Ronin, 3M and many, many others but I guess by the very mention of them here some people may take a further look.
It’s common knowledge that there are far too many software products and most, if not all of them are pretty much basically the same and in preparation for our next #DSTop10 we have continued to take a much wider look at the software industry.
Our #DSTop10 is one way to slice and dice the vendors and of course gives you our personal take on who’s hot and who’s not – being ‘global’ is one of the criteria used but many of you have asked for us to take a wider look; “I don’t care if they have a strong global reach or not, the feature set and price are what is important” is what many readers have told us.
†After a product or company name indicates a current or past DailyDOOH advertiser (with product or company)
1Removed after re-consideration and feedback
2Removed after a ton of negative feedback and the departure of Mike Kruse, former product marketing manager
November 17th, 2010 at 14:46 @657
So you came to this conclusion without actually evaluating all the products available. The article should really be titled ‘the 32 best Digital Signage brochures that we could find’. Hardly a fair representation of the market and in truth a poor reflection of this blog as a industry commentator.
November 17th, 2010 at 14:52 @661
Seems you forgot the most important company of all, the one everyone is talking about.. http://MediaSignage.com
They offer FREE DIGITAL SIGNAGE, and they will be at DSE
November 17th, 2010 at 15:02 @668
Richard Brock said it all. Shame on you Editor.
November 17th, 2010 at 15:13 @676
Can you tell us what methodology Daily used to evaulate all applications?
November 17th, 2010 at 17:27 @769
Funny that someone mentioned Media Signage… Next up in that category would be ScreenScape.
I hope you guys know that these browser-based Adobe AIR/FLEX “players” are not really players. In fact, their entire “player” can be subsumed and displayed as simply a generic piece of flash content within the playlists of other, more powerful DS systems.
Oops… did I let a cat out of the bag?
November 17th, 2010 at 18:49 @826
Richard -
I believe it’s a little bit unfair to assume that the DailyDOOH team has not actually evaluated a large number of the software offerings available and that they are only basing their list off of brochures. As someone who has been there to give a demonstration (or two, or three) with my team for one of the products on this list (note: no longer with that specific team), I do know that the DD staff does in fact regularly review software packages on a technical level.
Having said that, you’re right in noting that it is a nearly impossible job to evaluate every single DS package that is on the market, and I think it would be fair for the DD crew to acknowledge that point.
Mike -
They do state a bit of a methodology, but you’re right in stating that it may be incomplete.
DailyDOOH Team -
Going to Mike’s point, and to your own assertion that many of these choices are vertical in nature, I’m wondering if you might lift the curtain a little bit and disclose the following when discussing these items:
1. What vertical market(s) do you specifically reccomend specific software packages for?
2. What feature set(s) or other criteria make their product(s) well suited for said verticals in your opinion?
3. What version of their digital signage solution did you evaluate, and when?
Just some thoughts. Information is good, right?
Salud,
Sean
November 17th, 2010 at 19:28 @853
If you are so bold as to state publicly that Scala is better than Tightrope, surely you should only arrive at this conclusion if you apply the same test case to both Tightrope and Scala, and as per the stated methodology, compare pricing as well. Instead the author has stated that Coke is better than Pepsi but heck he hasn’t bothered to actually taste Pepsi. It’s unfair to end-users, and it’s unfair to vendors. When I present to a potential customer, I don’t rubbish the competition, it’s a pity the author has not displayed the same restraint.
November 17th, 2010 at 22:49 @992
It’s a difficult job, and if all who write and/or consult in the industry, with an open and objective mInd with no allegiances on the line, were to take a stab at it, we would all probably come up with a different top 10 for different reasons.
For me, I actually use the stuff and work with it hands-on before recommending it to anyone. Unfortunately, hands-on evals take time and with the amount of product available, would take me way too long to complete. The DailyDOOH is to be commended for publishing their opinions on all of the countless demos, presentations, and hands-on evals they’ve experienced. Once they publish it, it’s up to you to use it as you see fit. For me, it saves me a lot of time and money, and helps me focus on who to pay closer attention to (or not).
My only comment is, if at all possible, to hear from the DailyDOOH staff why certain notable products like WebDT, BrightSign and MediaSignage did not make the cut, and other relatively unknowns (at least to me, pardon my ignorance) did (e.g.; 1080dots, Mermaid, Onelean, Thinxstream). Looking forward to reading the 2010 top 10. Keep up the good work!
November 17th, 2010 at 23:09 @006
maybe its just based on what it says at the title to the blog …..
“Insight, Knowledge and Opinion”
I note that these posting are either anonymous or not on the list. Perhaps I am the sole voice on the list that is willing to hark up, but c’mon guys If you really want to be heard do a better job of getting mindshare with ALL stakeholders rather than bitching once a year & banging on about FREE !!!!
If Dynamax are not in the top 10 next year so be it, we will simply carry on doing what we are doing regardless, but let me assure you we will not sit there next year posting “WAAAA WAAAAA WAAAA”
November 18th, 2010 at 19:54 @871
LISTS ARE GOOD! Stirs up the pot. Everyone thinks each other is a Wanker! Ok, so that part is true. Without Adrian and his team putting it out there well… Its a very, very good thing he does.
I think we need a Wurst list for those companies that cant get out of thier own way and a Dead, but Not Gone list for those that continue to defy gravity, anf of course an OhReally list, for longest life with vapor-ware.
The Pinnochio list leader of the year has to be 50,000 screens in 50 casinos
Cheers to Adrian and team!
November 19th, 2010 at 13:50 @618
WAKE UP EVERYONE. Daily DOOH is a business first and foremost. The top 32 list is simply comprised of everyone that they feel has the POTENTIAL to advertise with them. Thats about. If you are NOT on the list…dont sweat it, it just means that Adrian and the team dont feel you can spend dollars with the to buy some banners on their web-site.
Hasnt everyone noticed how horny Adrian gets when someone NEW has placed (or will be placing an ad) with them?
WAKE UP SMELL THE COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!
November 19th, 2010 at 23:43 @030
Does it frustrate anyone else that the daily dooh team never seems to respond to these comments? Isn’t that blogging 101? To engage your readers?
November 20th, 2010 at 07:29 @353
Rise and shine, truth well told was in the last post. Adrian must pay for all the flights around the planet and he has the luxury of being the editor of a popular ‘tabloid’. Take all that is written with a ‘pinch of salt’.His approach is akin to ‘shit stirring’.
November 21st, 2010 at 17:01 @751
It would be a good exercise to see how many of the top 30 are making a profit. Surely this would be on you checklist with regards to seeing if the business should be in there. Do your research and you will be amazed at what you find.
November 21st, 2010 at 21:23 @932
@ wake up: great job !
@ Richard Brock : outstanding !
@ “Top 30 Digital Signage Software Vendors” … change the topic into “23″
…and we have all fun about this dailyblablabla – list
November 22nd, 2010 at 13:04 @586
To the other anon – making a profit? Try positive cash flow.
November 30th, 2010 at 13:16 @594
If you want to be in these DailyDooh’s lists you only need to pay an advert here, this is the way it works.
November 30th, 2010 at 14:55 @663
There are clearly some Signage Platforms that are superior to others….but!
Some signage platforms are just more tuned into the type of customer that they are designed around and by that very notion are better than others that are not!
I would welcome all of these platforms to do as well as possible in the verticals they are best at and hopefully that will mean that more and more of you will engage with companies like mine that install and maintain it for you!
December 9th, 2010 at 08:16 @386
Media Signage is a load of crap, even the “premium” version. I could receive more support from a flea biting at my ankle!
October 9th, 2011 at 19:29 @854
There has been a lot of changes since the article was published…:)
February 15th, 2012 at 22:52 @994
Are we in a time warp? The comments predate the article by two years…
February 16th, 2012 at 09:06 @421
ok, should I bitch about MALER not being on the list.. we paid for advertising on the dailydooh a couple of times and we are not on the list….. wait…wait sorry, we are not a software company… regardless… let me bitch about it.. Adrian, put our name up there…now!
How about a list of Network Operators for DS? How many are there?
February 16th, 2012 at 09:09 @423
Luis why don;’t you bitch about Telentice, err we mean Fujitsu err or do we mean Telentice – either way what happened to them?
February 16th, 2012 at 10:29 @478
Adrian, easy answer, I have to fight my own battles… believe me, I have my share. Let Fujitsu worry about TELentice, that is why they own the IP and make all the sales.
Let me worry about all the smart guys above making software we can manage… or that its actually managable…
Everybody can do everything, but then, when the real test comes and you put them to the test, it is always “available” on the next release… which never comes, or you just dont bother with it…
February 16th, 2012 at 12:27 @560
Adrian, that’s an interesting point that Luis makes. Do you have an up to date list of DOOH Networks/Operators – it would be interesting to track growth, acquisitions and Tango Uniforms etc … assessed more from an advertiser rather than supplier perspective (who ultimately feed all the mouths in the supply/value chain)? Or is this an area that AKA.TV will perhaps focus on?
February 16th, 2012 at 14:53 @662
Over many years our company (Omnivex) has been both maligned and praised in DailyDOOH. We have never advertised with DailyDOOH and I don’t believe, nor has it ever been suggested that editorial is determined by advertising sales. Adrian has been transparent by identifying advertisers in this listing. DOOH have technically proficient staff who have spent many hours looking at our product at trade shows and followed up with a thorough review of our documentation.
When rumors are circulating in the industry as they often do, DOOH editors have contacted me to fact check their sources and I assume they do the same with my competitors. A blog is an opinion piece and this group have a right to their opinion. We have been fortunate to be included in this list for the last couple of years and I hope that we remain on it but the only way for us to make that happen is to prove merit.
February 16th, 2012 at 16:55 @746
Congratulations on developing a world-first Top 27.
27? Who does a Top 27???
I told you not to skip your meds.
February 16th, 2012 at 22:42 @987
Long time reader, first time commenter! I have to assume that all of us “commenters” may not be privy to the entire set of criteria that the DailyDOOH team used to generate this list. Certainly, as the GM for Harris Corporation’s DOOH business, I can vouch that we have not been acquired, are not going out of business and are not “walking dead on a skeleton staff” as evidenced by recent wins and an interview with myself covered right here in this blog. Opinion always generates great discussion, doesn’t it?!
February 17th, 2012 at 18:03 @794
This site never gives any details or can quantify their selections, until then – it’s ‘a list’, that part doesn’t seem to challenging. Based on other comments, it seems as if they make their decisions based on review at a trade show and read through documents. No review of software in real world applications? (If not, the selections above cannot be valid). There is a definitely a void in this industry for a defacto site or organization that has truly done their research for which other applications are based (i.e – Gartner Group, etc). Until then, we’re left with sites like this, TMZ, and Page 6. Site note – there is much more to these companies than just the software and to rollout any application, each piece is critical to making it work (successfully). A quick guide – find out each companies financials, proven track record, review past / present / future software roadmap, exact list of employees focused on your program, test out the media player, prove they can scale, who are their logistic partners, define content services (what will you do, what will they do), and know everything about the network (systems, scale, and limitations) … and, that’s just to get you started.