What is digital signage?
The TorchTech Google Group recently had a very active discussion about digital signage software and hardware. In most cases, digital signage refers to television screens in the lobbies of NYU buildings, also meeting room signs, and groups of interconnected displays. A popular use for these signs is to display information on weekly events, social media feeds, videos, and other content. These devices are connected to software, computers, and content ‘player’ devices that NYU staff manage. Currently, there are over twenty different digital signage solutions in use at NYU!
Due to overwhelming interest from the TorchTech community to leverage a common platform, NYU IT recently initiated a cross-functional project team to investigate an enterprise-wide digital signage solution. The team is sponsored by NYU IT’s new Director of IT Partnerships and Community Relationships, Evan Silberman. Membership in the Digital Signage Discovery Team includes representatives from schools and departments from across the University: from Capital Projects & Facilities, to the Faculty of Arts and Science, Public Safety, Steinhardt, and NYU Shanghai.
The group, known as the Digital Signage Discovery Team, is working to recommend a service and service model that can be extended to interested parties across the University. This recommendation would then be presented to the CIO Council (a governance group of School-based IT leads), departmental leadership, and others for approval. If approved, NYU IT would launch a project to identify a pilot group and extend the service to interested schools and departments.
Potential outcomes of this effort include:
- Cost reduction through shared licensing agreements that are centrally managed
- NYU IT service/support
- Improved quality of signage software
- More consistent student experience
- Ability to share templates that follow NYU branding guidelines
- Emergency alerts integration with Public Safety
- Enhanced information sharing
If you or someone you know would like to contribute to this effort, please email our group at it-digital-signage@nyu.edu, or join the Enterprise-Wide Digital Signage community of practice.