What Is Cloud-Based Digital Signage?

If you're wondering what cloud-based digital signage is, you’re not alone. A lot of people are wondering the same thing.

But, chances are, you already know part of it – the cloud part. Majority of people don’t know this, but they’re probably already using cloud-based storage, like when they upload something “to the cloud” instead of storing it on their phones to save storage space.

Most of the time, the cloud consists of a subscription-based software accessible only online and via internet, also known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

Plenty of modern signage solutions include cloud-based digital signage as a means of managing content.

If that has intrigued you, you may first want to know:

• How it works
• What are its advantages
• How they can benefit your business

Below is a quick breakdown of the said points.

How Does Cloud-Based Digital Signage Work?

Cloud-based signages allow you to log onto a dashboard using your computer, tablet, or smartphone to manage your content. This way, you can control your content and display in real-time as long as you have internet.

How it works exactly depends on the software provided by the provider. However, a common theme is that the servers are external and maintained by the provider.

If possible, ask your digital signage provider to explain in detail exactly how their software works.

What Are Its Advantages?

There are generally two types of storage solutions for digital signages – cloud-based and on-premise.

On-premise means that your business is responsible for housing and maintaining the servers responsible for hosting the content of your digital signages. Usually, you can have the software built in-house (built by your own people), or you can buy it from a third-party service provider.

Of course, servers aren’t always necessary. You can use a USB drive or streaming media devices like Roku, Chromecast, or Apple TV, to display content on your signages. However, those are entirely different things, and we’re focusing mostly on cloud-based and on-premise digital signages.

Other key advantages when it comes to using cloud-based digital signage is that it’s easier to setup, less maintenance since the providers will be responsible for doing it, and you have real-time, remote access to your signages so you can update or change the display whenever you want to wherever you are as long as you have access to the internet.

Perhaps the biggest advantage, though, is that cloud-based digital signage is cheaper to set up and even cheaper to maintain.

How Can My Business Benefit From It?

On-premise digital signage is attractive, but expensive and generally, much more complicated. Although you’ll be paying for everything in one fell swoop, the cost of electricity, storage space, security, and IT labor are not going to come cheap.

On the other hand, with the cloud-based route, you only need to pay every month or every year for your subscription, drastically reducing the upfront costs. Not only that, but updates usually come for free and are done automatically by the provider.

Conclusion

It’s clear that cloud-based digital signage is the best solution for a majority of businesses. Of course, it’s a case to case basis, so it’s important to think it through first. But, if the only reason you’re not going cloud based is that it intimidates you, don’t. Remember, the main purpose of technology is to make our lives easier, and that’s exactly what going cloud-based with your digital signage does