Preparing for digital signage 8: Prices and pricing

19/4/2019

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This article is the eighth in a series concerning the choice of the network architecture of its digital signage system, if you do not fully understand the concept of digital signage, or are not familiar with the various existing architectures, start with this article: Digital signage: be well prepared. If you missed the previous article, check out: Get ready #7: Usability and scalability

A digital signage solution is based on the integration of several equipment (players, servers...) or software... The latter can be made available or sold by one or more different service providers. Each offering their own products (player and software, player only, software only...), it is difficult to have an idea of the exact pricing that will be applied. However, it is possible toidentify cost sources, as well as The billing frequency applied in each case.

Case of hosted models (on-premise) and hybrid

The architectures hosted (on-premise) and hybrid represent a significant initial investment. This investment essentially includes The cost of buying the equipment (server, players, routers, software...), equipment installation costs And possible trainings, necessary for the perfect mastery of the management interface. In addition to these costs, you can add: The maintenance, often billed in the form of an annual subscription.

In addition to this initial investment, there are other costs (hidden), which are rarely indicated on the invoices of service providers. Indeed, software updates are often billed additionally, on a recurring basis (often annualized). Wear and tear, and therefore hardware replacement is also a parameter that should not be overlooked. Although no rules are defined, the lifespan of players and servers generally oscillates around 5 to 7 years. Date after which it is necessary to renew the equipment in the park. In the case of large fleets where a technical team is dedicated to the maintenance of the system, Wages (or part of it) are also to be added to the final bill.

It can then be difficult to budget correctly.

SaaS model case

In a SaaS architecture, Invoicing is done monthly (or annually), and corresponds, in most cases, to a subscription to the software (or to the platform) of management. Updates to the management interface and players are often included in the subscription, as well as technical support.

In cases where the acquisition of display players is planned, additional investment may be required. In addition, in the case of difficult connectivity, the addition of network equipment (Wi-Fi routers, 3G...) as well as subscriptions and packages mobile data may be required. Si maintenance is often included in the subscription, training courses may be invoiced at an additional cost.

Planning your budget is then often much easier.

Power consumption

Too often forgotten when budgeting for a dynamic signage system and absent from service provider invoices, However, the electricity bill plays an important role in the addition, in particular on long-term projects. Indeed, regardless of the architecture chosen, electricity consumption will be impacted. In a hosted (on-premise) or hybrid architecture, it will include the power consumption of players, servers and their packaging (adapted cooling, operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...). In the case of a SaaS architecture, the bill is limited to the power consumption of the players as well as those of any routers. In any case, the consumption of screens is obviously to be considered.

Many solutions exist, and with each of them, different pricing models. Although, generally, SaaS solutions charge for a recurring subscription and hosted solutions (on-premise) charge for a single purchase. On this basis, various additional services can be added, each with its own billing model. (maintenance on a regular basis or specific development in single billing). However, there are free digital signage solutions. (in the form of software to be installed on machines not supplied), but their installation and use are intended more often for experienced developers than for communication professionals and require a lot of time and effort. In these solutions, support is rarely included.

→ Learn more about free digital signage solutions

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