Munich | Changes in digital signage technology are driven AI, data, and platforms, and the demands of managed services. Here’s what industry leaders at DSS Europe think are the key shifts shaping its future.
Digital Signage in the era of Managed Services, platforms, AI, and service clouds – this question took center stage at the inaugural Tech Forum during Digital Signage Summit Europe, where industry leaders gathered to explore the future of the sector. What follows is a distilled overview of the key insights and takeaways from a day packed with forward-thinking discussions and practical perspectives.
A managed future
The digital signage industry is undergoing a large transformation, one increasingly shaped by the rise of Managed Service Providers (MSPs). In this new landscape, the “S” in MSP doesn’t just stand for “service” – it symbolizes a fundamental shift in mindset. Digital signage is no longer about installing software and forgetting about it. Whether cloud-based or on-premises, today’s solutions must be continuously managed, updated, and optimized. Central to this is Remote Device Management (RDM), a non-negotiable requirement for any serious digital signage deployment. Quite simply: there is no Managed Signage without RDM.
AI – the promised land
We live in an age captivated by artificial intelligence – an era defined by bold promises and dystopian fears. Businesses often find themselves caught between visionary expectations and the gritty realities of implementation. Many still treat AI as a helpful assistant rather than a transformative force. In truth, AI holds the power to completely reshape operations, boost efficiency, and unlock new business models. But actual use cases remain relatively limited, especially at scale.
In a niche like digital signage, however, all players along the calue chain rely on the foundational LLMs. Here, a divergence is unfolding. Two major AI ecosystems – American and Chinese – are evolving with increasingly separate rules, standards, and approaches. For software vendors, this emerging AI cosmology will necessitate support for multiple LLMs, adding layers of complexity and cost to future transformations.
One pressing decision for companies will be how they apply AI: Will it power internal workflows, or serve as a front-end tool for customer engagement?
DooH – a data game
Digital-out-of-Home – being part of the digital advertising landscape – is becoming a data collecting and processing machinery instead of a pure media sales business. This evolution favors scale. Smaller media owners often struggle to gather and utilize data effectively, while larger players are shifting their messaging to focus on technology stacks rather than physical assets.
As software becomes the key differentiator, the DooH space is advancing faster than ever. With technology cycles outpacing infrastructure upgrades, innovation is being driven not by what’s on the street, but by what’s in the cloud.
New business models – it’s a platform world
Project-specific work may still dominate the end-user landscape, but it doesn’t offer the scale software vendors need. In today’s market, Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is king. To capture it, vendors are shifting to a product-focused, platform-driven model. Giants like Samsung VXT and Google Chrome OS are positioning themselves to support mid-sized ISVs that lack the resources for large-scale go-to-market efforts.
The platform economy promises reach, scalability, and access to broader customer bases. It’s no longer a question of if, but when and how the industry fully adopts this model.
IT architecture – the end of on-prem?
The service cloud is becoming more expensive but more dominant at the same time. The reasons are clear: faster deployment, easier updates, and simplified integration. Standard containers and APIs are becoming the norm – although many developers don’t like that because of what you could call “Not invented here” (NIH)-syndrome.
That said, on-premises solutions aren’t going away. Certain industries still demand local control for regulatory or operational reasons. What’s evolving is the nature of on-prem – now supplemented by service layers that mimic cloud benefits without losing local control.
Tech stack & APIs – let’s connect
As digital signage software becomes more modular, one key question arises: What is the true core of a DS solution? Is it the content composer, the player, the digital asset management (DAM) system, or the orchestration layer that ties everything together?
Either way: Modern digital signage platforms must be flexible, API-friendly, and deeply interconnected. Seamless integration is no longer a bonus – it’s a baseline requirement. In a hyper-connected world, the strength of a platform lies not just in its individual components, but in how well they work together.
