The current ubiquity of cloud-powered devices is greater than perhaps any market research report could have summed even five years ago. But, here we are on the precipice of the next wave of computing and technological innovations, many of which include cloud powered devices. In fact, as more and more devices become connected, we will often wonder “how did we ever live without this?” The same is as true for cloudvertising as it may be for connecting a tablet PC via a network connection. However, when it comes to public display devices there are some elements of cloud computing that make management of your digital display screen network much easier, including cost, scalability and security enhancements which are more difficult to obtain if you want to host servers at your own network operations center.
If your business did, by some of chance decide to install a mass load of servers to power your point of purchase displays, such an initial outlay may take quite a long time to recoup, tanking your overall ROI and making your project look that much less inviting from a financial perspective. However, cloud computing and digital signage helps to alleviate the potential headache of having to invest a great deal of money at the outset, allowing you to put valuable financial resources to work elsewhere whilst you grow your advertising screen network into something that gives a great deal of power to you as a business owner.
In addition, ramping up such a project without having to implement even more servers at your NOC is also a huge benefit to going with a cloud-powered solution rather than hosting yourself. Think for a moment as to what this may mean. You spend a couple thousand dollars a piece on a whole bunch of servers which are used to power several thousand digital display screens and suddenly you have an order for several hundred more, but your capacity is maxed, you have no room for expansion. On the cloud, alleviating this issue is a breeze because you are able to ramp up when demand requires a great deal more scale than you may currently provide.
Finally, security via the cloud is perhaps one of the best resources you get from having professional server farm folks host your digital network. Having your network on the cloud almost eliminates the need for security testing and redundancy at multiple sites by keeping your data in one solid location. A high security network operations center for your entire network helps to eliminate leaks that can be evident if you may be hosting your own network.
When it comes to deciding whether you want to install your own digital signage network or have someone else do the management, it may be wise to learn some lessons from the cloud. Time and money are certainly limited resources that can be saved substantially if you are able to operate efficiently in a cloud environment with your digital signage.
