NoviSign, a digital signage software company, is celebrating two years of development in the signage world. Gil Matzliah, Co-founder and CEO of NoviSign, reflects on his experience in a fast-paced culture of constant innovation and entrepreneurship.

Dana: Gil, it must be so exciting to say that NoviSign is no longer an idea or thought. It has come to fruition and is a unique software service in the signage industry due to its bundling and all-inclusive services. What need did NoviSign seek to fulfill from its inception and what was lacking in the industry before NoviSign?

Gil: NoviSign was founded in April 2011, and in the past two years has grown tremendously and successfully expanded the market through our technology. From the onset, we targeted the signage world that, back then, had closed proprietary hardware players via network communication. We targeted IP-based digital signage forming an SaaS (software as a service) application that supported Android-based signage. At the end of 2010, the signage player was not a trivial endeavor. Android phones were ‘young’ platforms. The Android tablet had just started to reach the market and Google Android-based TV was only something experienced in early lab cooperation with Logitech on the player box and with Sony embedded in the TV. Planning to operate over an IP broadcast, we needed off-the-shelf Android players, which one can buy at a local shop, mount on the wall, and broadcast within minutes. In June 2011, we spotted the first Chinese Android player running Android 2.2 at the cost of 170 USD. We immediately started to work on that, and after six months of arduous work, the variety of players spread to dozens of devices with pricing around 100 USD per player. Today you can find a dual core CPU Android for less than 50 USD that is roughly the size of a USB stick. It is amazing to see how Android TV players are getting smaller, cheaper, and more efficient today.

Dana: NoviSign identified the Android Player as a winning business solution and platform before other signage companies, offering competitive pricing and package deals. Where do you see this technology trending, if at all, in the digital signage world in the near future? Will more signage companies adopt this technology as their hardware solution?

Gil: In recent months, I have seen many other signage companies moving to the Android platform as a player, which I think is a wise move. It seems like Android will dominate the market in the near future. As an open source software service, adoptable around the world, with low hardware cost, zero OS costs, great performance, and a wide selection of manufacturers, it seems like an obvious winning solution. In the future, we will also support an option for Windows-based players so that one can take a mini PC with Windows and use it as a NoviSign player. NoviSign will effectively offer both Android and Windows players and a mix of both, according a company’s needs.

Dana: What factors do you think primarily drive development in the signage industry and how does NoviSign positively influence these components?

Gil:The main winning components we consider in designing our service are simplicity and innovation. As a start-up company, we are committed to thinking faster and clearer. We don’t try to follow market trends but instead try to set them. On the other hand, to create state-of-the art software with a small percentage of highly capable users would miss the point. We mostly target the SMB market segment, and I believe we must keep NoviSign SaaS simple and accessible.

Dana: Can you share with us more about NoviSign support for Screen-Smart Device Interaction (SSI)?

Gil: We have just launched two new widgets based on screen-smart device interaction (SSI): the Game Widget and Poll Widget. Using the Poll widget, you can easily create an online poll, broadcast it to your screens, and have your customers interact with the technology through real-time polls and voting activity. The interaction between the smart phone and the venue through the screen will gain exponential popularity in the coming months. I believe customer interaction will become a common implementation for companies utilizing consumer feedback. Businesses can broadcast their message to the screen from anywhere to anywhere and let the audience scan the QR code on their phone to take part in transforming the environment they are visiting in real-time. This also enables companies and businesses to be creative with how they use SSI. I’ve seen companies offer rewards and discounts on their screens, which reinforces customer loyalty and customer referrals.

Essentially, digital signage gaming is a ‘Game Changer’ in this industry. The simplicity of setting up a fun interactive activity, which in turn changes the shopping, waiting, and visiting experience, has multiple implementation options, regarding which, I am confident our customers will show the most innovation and creativity.  

Dana: NoviSign has also been developing several new widgets in the past few months to give customers an even broader selection of features and technologies. What widgets have proved to be the most popular and useful for businesses in engaging with their consumers?

Gil: We continue to develop widgets based on feedback from the field in addition to what our Product and Creative Teams generate. The RSS and weather widgets are the most popular recently, and, as mentioned, we just came out with the Game and Poll widgets, which are now gaining lots of traction. We are planning ‘Social Apps’ widgets (Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and others) and in the future, we might open up our ‘Widget Store.’ The ‘Widget Store’ would allow users to design their own developed widgets that could then also be used by others. Today, community OS is a growing trend. This may further expand our customer base by integrating a social component with our start-up’s innovative culture and development.

Dana: Where do you see the signage market going in the next few years and what would you say will be NoviSign’s role in this?

Gil: As prices of signage components continue to decrease and as performance improves, we will see digital signage grow as an industry and as part of companies’ business platforms. Unlike the signage of the last decade that was static, this signage will be dynamic and interactive, allowing customer engagement via mobile phones, driven by the availability of wireless data communication that is LTE-based. Additionally, Android- based smart screens that have superior performance and distinctive pricing enable business owners to change traditional ways of marketing through the Web and bring marketing into the workspace with real-time interaction and updates broadcasted on the screen. NoviSign is positioned as a leading player in this novel signage world where customers are engaged on a daily basis.

Dana: What are NoviSign’s primary goals moving into the second half of 2013 and where do you see NoviSign as a company growing in the next five years?

Gil: Our immediate goal is to expand our product to provide full signage capabilities on low- end Android devices. Together with recent innovative widgets and enhanced reporting and user management capabilities, I believe we’ll be able to enlarge our partner base and ideally position our company to begin our next phase.

Dana: Gil, thank you so much for your time and for sharing information on NoviSign Digital Signage’s short and long-term goals. I am looking forward to following your company’s impact in the signage world and am sure businesses will continue to look to NoviSign as a trendsetter in the signage world.

For more information about NoviSign, please visit the company website at: http://www.novisign.com/

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