A sign of the times

Chasing the gold

With no formal qualifications needed to provide and connect the hardware in digital signage, it might seem as if money should be pouring in for resellers. However, digital signage is more than just big screen TV panels connected to a network. While that part of the business can be plundered by IT resellers, the real money is being made in ongoing revenue streams from advertising contracts. Rabone believes resellers must realise that content in digital signage is king.

“There’s no certification in connecting the panels onto a network,” he said. “IT resellers will be used to connecting monitors, so that part of the business will be a free reign for anyone involved in digital signage.”

He believes the profitability in digital signage lies in the ongoing revenue stream produced from services and customer lease agreements with digital media content providers.

Most IT resellers lack the resources to produce this specialised content and can thus only take the installation and service component of the sale. However there are integrators out there that do have specialised media divisions.

“Companies such as TCP have the ability to design a solution, put customers under a lease agreement and make them pay off the product for around four years,” said Rabone. “In return, TCP will guarantee financial returns from advertising. Customers may pay resellers to manage their systems, but you will find integrators and IT resellers won’t be making the same money as
a company such as TCP.”

Rabone said that while vendors can make good money through commercial-grade screens, resellers will find they will still have to resell box products at high volume to make profitable margins.