Use your Cisco Webex Video Screens for More – Put Them Into “Signage Mode”

Yes, we know that you have been asking this for years: “How can I show other content and signage on my connected Cisco video screens when they are not being used for screensharing, whiteboarding or conferencing?”

Sure, there were workarounds – you could set up custom wallpapers or connect dedicated devices to deliver a signage experience through HDMI. But these features had some limitations and were not intended to deliver a true signage experience. That is about to change!

At Cisco Live Barcelona and at ISE in Amsterdam, we are previewing a new capability that will let Cisco Webex video devices show customized digital signage in place of the default half-wake state. We’re calling this “signage mode.” As much as we have thoughtfully designed our half-wake screens and animations, we love to give our users and customers even more value out of their Cisco video devices.

How does it work? We made it simple for you. Signage mode simply leverages the web engine that we have just built into Room OS, the software that runs on cloud-registered Cisco video devices. This means that you can show any web page when the device goes into idle mode. For example, that could be a signage app or a dashboard showing relevant stats for teams sitting close to that particular system. No extra servers or HDMI cables required; just configure a URL and watch the magic happen.

Double-down on your investment

When I visit customer sites, I frequently see a double deployment of screens – one set for meeting spaces and another for signage. Talk about wasting resources and doubling the amount of maintenance. When you invest in our devices across all meeting spaces, it’s only natural that you also want to use them for displaying relevant information when they’re not being used for collaboration and conferencing. The only thing we want you to double is the value in your investment.

Imagine all of the open office spaces emerging through workplace transformations everywhere. What if your Webex Boards could be useful all day – in and out of conferences. It could be a digital whiteboard in the morning, followed by a team scrum board in the afternoon, and when not actively being used, it could display HR messages or KPIs for relevant teams.

In your open areas for townhalls and mingling, all those large screens connected to your Codec Pro could display your corporate programs or beautiful sceneries instead of just being black.

For the 100s of huddle spaces with Room Kit Mini devices, wouldn’t it be great to encourage collaboration by showing compelling stats about the power of small teams? Explain how the new office layout works, or even promote new CSR programs?

More than just signs

Some of our partners are already hard at work integrating signage mode with relevant solutions for displaying content critical for business workflows. Hear what Stan Stephens, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Appspace is saying about this feature:

“The new signage mode feature on the Webex video devices allowed us to integrate the Appspace progressive web app with minimum to no code changes. The performance and compatibility of the signage mode is great – equaling and, in some cases, exceeding the capabilities of dedicated media players. This means we can offer the full UX experience without compromising content transitions or playback.”

And by the way, we are not stopping here. The opportunities are endless when it comes showing web content, and we are exploring how we can create deeper integrations, applications and more. We begin with signage mode, which we expect to be delivering to Cisco video devices in Q2 2019, but that is only the beginning. Stay tuned!

For a live demo, visit us at ISE in Amsterdam, booth #11-C130.

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