Digital signage plays a growing role in powering workplace communication, but not all platforms are created equal. Whether you’re upgrading an aging system or deploying digital signage for the first time, knowing what to look for in a solution can mean the difference between long-term success and immediate regret. This blog lays out the green flags that signal a solution built for enterprise needs and the red flags that could spell trouble down the road.
Digital Signage Green Flags: 10 Signs of a Future-Ready Platform
✅ 1. Integration with Your Existing Tech Stack
Enterprise signage must integrate with the tools your teams already use for quick and widespread implementation. Compatibility with systems like Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Power BI, ServiceNow, Slack, and more ensures ease of adoption, centralized control, and greater efficiency.
✅ 2. Brand-Locked Templates with Flexibility for Contributors
Look for platforms that support pre-designed templates with locked branding elements. This ensures on-brand design consistency while empowering distributed teams to keep content current and localized.
✅ 3. Built-in AI Designed for Digital Signage
Choose platforms that go beyond simply adding AI as a feature and instead integrate it into the core of digital signage. This means using AI to dynamically create and deliver content while also running it in the background to optimize device performance and generate meaningful analytics insights.
✅ 4. Enterprise-Grade Device Management
Downtime is costly. Choose platforms with real-time device monitoring, proactive alerts, and remote troubleshooting capabilities to maintain uptime and reduce IT strain.
✅ 5. Freedom to Choose Your Hardware
A vendor that forces you to use proprietary hardware limits flexibility and inflates costs. The ability to use a range of media players and System-on-Chip (SoC) displays facilitates scalability and flexible deployment options.
✅ 6. 24/7 Expert Support You Can Count On
When something goes wrong, you need real answers fast. Look for platforms that offer direct, 24/7 access to knowledgeable support, not frustrating chatbots or lengthy ticket queues.
✅ 7. Emergency Alerts and Screen Takeovers
Choose a platform with built-in support for instant overrides, allowing emergency messages to take over screens by zone or even network wide when you need to get information out fast. Integration with alerting tools like RAVE and CAP ensures rapid delivery across signage, desktop, and mobile channels.
✅ 8. Dynamic Content Powered by Live Data
A modern solution supports dynamic layouts and real-time feeds—from dashboards and video to weather and live metrics. Beyond RSS, flexible inputs like APIs, JSON/XML, and CSV keep content fresh, automated, and tailored to each location and audience.
✅ 9. Enterprise-Grade Security
Signage platforms should meet the same security standards as the rest of your IT stack. Look for features like single sign-on, Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), multi-factor authentication, and encrypted data, along with compliance with frameworks like SOC 2 and ISO. Role-based access ensures the right teams control the right content.
✅ 10. Unified Omnichannel CMS
A future-ready solution doesn’t just power digital signage—it unifies the entire workplace experience. Centralized messaging for internal communications, room booking, wayfinding, and real-time alerts that can be delivered across channels (signage, desktop, and mobile) keeps teams informed, aligned, and productive wherever they are.
Digital Signage Red Flags: 6 Warning Signs That Could Derail Your Strategy
🚩 1. Lack of Role-Based Content Governance
If you can’t assign different content zones or permissions by user or department, the system won’t scale, creating internal bottlenecks and potential security risks.
🚩 2. Limited Media and File Format Support
Inflexible media handling is a sign of an outdated platform. It should easily ingest video, audio, PDFs, and HTML5 and integrate with cloud storage platforms like OneDrive and Google Drive.
🚩 3. Static Scheduling
If scheduling doesn’t adjust based on location, audience, or other real-time factors, your messages will miss the mark. Dynamic scheduling is table stakes for audience relevance.
🚩 4. Slow or Inaccessible Support
Support that relies solely on tickets or outsourced teams can be a dealbreaker in enterprise environments. Prioritize vendors with live, knowledgeable support and responsive service level agreements.
🚩 5. Per-User Pricing Models
Charging by user restricts scale and adoption. Instead, look for pricing models that support unlimited users and scale with footprint, not headcount.
🚩 6. Hidden Fees or Surprise Upgrades
Some vendors lure customers with low entry pricing, only to add fees for integrations, templates, or features that should be standard. Transparent pricing is non-negotiable.
Is Your Digital Signage Platform Sending the Right Signals?
At the end of the day, digital signage isn’t just about putting content on screens; it’s about communicating with your audiences in the most effective, efficient way possible. By watching for the right signals—both the green flags that move you forward and the red flags that could hold you back—you’ll be better equipped to choose a platform that not only works today but continues to deliver value well into the future.
Ready to explore a digital signage platform that passes the test? Learn more about Korbyt.
