EPISODE 176 | Guest: Phil Epple, software support specialist for Visix
A successful digital signage deployment doesn’t just happen – it’s the result of careful planning. The crucial step between purchasing your system and captivating your audience is implementation.
In this episode, we break down the technical and logistical steps for a painless launch, emphasizing that setup is first and foremost an IT project that demands the right people, careful planning and a clear understanding of your network environment. We’ll walk through key pre-implementation checklist items so you can avoid common hurdles and ensure your system launch is smooth, fast and professional.
- Learn why successful implementation is an IT project, not just an AV one.
- Understand the two-phase process for a seamless system launch.
- Discover the most common technical issues that can cause delays.
- Get a breakdown of pre-implementation and IT readiness checklist.
- Explore different player options and their respective advantages.
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Transcript
Derek DeWitt: So, you’ve shopped around, and you finally settled on a particular digital signage system, and you think you have everything all together and hey, turned out you chose Visix. Yay! Lucky us, lucky you. It’s all gonna be great. But now we have to get your system up and running. You need a smooth and quick system launch, and that is where implementation comes in.
It’s a whole thing and I don’t really know anything about it because that’s not my job, my job is this. Fortunately, I’m talking to someone who knows a lot more about this than I do. It’s not his job either, but he is a software support specialist for Visix, and his name is Phil Epple. Hi Phil. Thanks for coming on the podcast.
Phil Epple: Hey, Derek, thanks for having me.
Derek DeWitt: I’d like to thank Phil, of course, for coming on and everybody out there for listening to this episode of Digital Signage Done Right. Don’t forget, you can subscribe and review and share and all that jazz, and you can follow along with a transcript on the Visix website, which will also have some helpful links.
So, Phil, the whole goal, obviously, is to get the clients to have really good-looking content and everything running smoothly just on day one. We don’t wanna start them off with just like a couple of messages and then, oh, we’ll figure it out over the next couple of weeks. That’s not our goal at all. We want them to have a fully functioning system that does pretty much what they want it to do immediately.
Phil Epple: Of course, of course. That’s always the goal for any client that comes on board. We like to get that product running as soon as possible so that they can see basically what they’ve purchased and all of its capabilities, hopefully on day one.
Derek DeWitt: So we’ve got, obviously, the software. We need to configure things, media players, master accounts, things like this. If there’s data mapping involved, we gotta get into that action. Maybe they want certain kinds of layouts and branding and, and we help with all of these things.
Phil Epple: We sure do, we sure do. Our pro services team are amazing at creating content, in depth data mapping, quite complex content if you’d like it, as well as we can assist with simplistic content, if that’s something you’d like to have us do.
Derek DeWitt: Now, the first thing I’ve been told is that, really before anything else, before we even start thinking about any particulars when it comes to the digital signage, we gotta get the right people, right? Who are the right people? Are we talking about the people who are gonna be using the system or what?
Phil Epple: Oh, that’s 100%. Having the right people, Derek, let me tell you. So the right people, especially for your implementation, are generally going to be your IT folks, and not just your Level 1s, but your network administrators and your system administrators. They should be involved, especially during implementation, to ensure that everything within the network can communicate, access to the server where the software’s being installed, or maybe you’re choosing to go the hosted route and just ensuring that where these devices go on the network can reach out to the internet to reach the hosted server.
Derek DeWitt: Ah, okay. So, it is the IT people. ‘Cause you know, digital signage, we’ve mentioned this many times on this podcast, digital signage is an odd thing because very often IT is who shops for it and then they hand it off to somebody else and say, okay, you’re in charge, bye. So, this is actually still an IT project at this point, ’cause we’re dealing with networking and hardware and software and networks and all this stuff.
Phil Epple: Oh, 100%. You know, and in fact, just to bring up the point, something that we see quite often is the project is handed to the AV department and not the IT. And I think there’s a little bit of a misunderstanding of what digital signage in the modern world is, which is really more IT based. A lot of this is running on Windows computer systems, Windows servers, running over IP-based networks.
Derek DeWitt: All right, so that’s the right people. And then we gotta make sure that we have all our ducks in a row. One of my favorite phrases. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know who was lining up ducks or for what purpose, but we gotta get them in that row. To that end, we have this implementation checklist that we send people ahead of time.
Phil Epple: That is correct. We actually have two different checklists that each client, as they begin this process, can kind of go off of. We have their onboarding checklist, which is the general scope of everything that’s gonna take place over the course of implementation. And part of that checklist is the actual IT checklist or IT readiness checklist.
We have this in two different flavors. We have this for the hosted clients as well as the on-prem clients. There’s not too many differences between the two, other than an on-prem client, of course, will have some additional steps in regards to their server. If they want to use SSL certificates to have that ready to go for time of implementation just to streamline that process.
Derek DeWitt: So, you send this to them and then they always do all the things that they are being asked to do in advance, so that when they finally get on the phone or a Teams chat or whatever with the implementation specialist, then it’s all ready to go. That’s how it always works, right?
Phil Epple: In a perfect world, yes, but unfortunately it doesn’t always happen that way. And I, if you were to ask my opinion, it probably does come down to having the right people involved from the get go of the project.
Sometimes we’ll receive these checklists back with some basic information that of course does help with that implementation but missing key components, which could delay that implementation if we need to get, say, the network admin involved who happens to be on vacation the one time of year they get to do it.
Derek DeWitt: Right. Right. Okay. Well, we need to talk to Joe. Oh, Joe’s not here.
This is not like buying a new laptop where you just, you know, pull it out of the box, plug it in, and it kind of takes you through the paces and you’re up and running and looking at cat videos in an hour. It’s a bit more involved than that.
Phil Epple: That’s correct. It’s not a convoluted setup or anything too extreme, but, like anything in the modern business world, it is going to require a little understanding of network, IP-based communications and Windows systems, primarily just how to get Windows systems up and running. And then, of course with our administrators, there are other things they can choose to do. As an example, adding a PC player to their domain if they wish to control that Windows device through their domain. But otherwise, it’s not super complex. It just requires the right people at the right time.
Derek DeWitt: Right, right. So, walk me through the general shape of this pre-implementation checklist.
Phil Epple: Yeah, so basically, you know, once we kind of start off with the kickoff calls. A lot of that’s going to be identifying who is in charge of what, or who, you know, has access to what. So, that’s kind of the bring together of the right folks, right? And so, then the next step there is going to be more or less a technical call. We call that the IT readiness.
Prior to that, the CSMs have sent a link to our form, which is our IT readiness checklist, the same thing we’ve been kind of discussing. For the most part, it’s pretty self-explanatory. It’s gonna ask for some questions specific to the software, and pretty much this is the one that we always get filled out, or at least the parts we always get filled out. What do you want to call the organization? What do you want to call the sub-orgs? You know, various in-software configurations.
But a little bit down the way, you will notice that we’re asking questions about the IP-based network. We’re asking questions about the SSL cert, if you want to use that. That’s completely optional, but if you do, it is something you want to have set up ahead of time.
But for the most part, this checklist will be filled out. It’ll be sent back into us, and we’ll schedule an IT readiness call where we’ll then go over all of these items, kind of relay what we’ve received back, ensure that that is meeting the needs of your network and the needs of how you would like to see this deployed.
Derek DeWitt: So, how many steps are there all told, really, before we start doing stuff, before we start monkeying under the hood?
Phil Epple: So, basically, we identify this in a total of about eight steps before the installation is happening. But to be fair, it’s broken into two phases. And phase two includes the installation and implementation of the software.
So, while we say eight steps, four of those steps are identifying who is going to be involved from the content creators to the systems administrators. So ideally, we’re really looking at more of a phase process than a step process. And that implementation does begin in phase two.
Derek DeWitt: Wow. That just, that sounds pretty easy. What are some of the issues that come up, though, in that? Let’s say, you think everything’s all settled, you’ve done phase one, those first steps, all right, we’re ready to go. Phase two, here we go. Wednesday, five o’clock. Yeah! And pffft, it doesn’t happen. Why doesn’t it happen?
Phil Epple: Well, I would say, if I were to pick out let’s just say maybe three most common causes, one of the most common causes is the PC players. Again, Windows-based computers at the end of the day, are connected to the network and are not provided an internet access. They have an internal network access, but no internet access. Possibly a content filter, VLAN, security design, what have you, very normal things we see in modern networks. However, the PC players, especially in a hosted environment, have to reach out to a server in the cloud. So, they need an internet connection.
But most of signage also will include widgets and configurations that reach out to third party data sources or sources out on the cloud, and so they also would need internet access for that. So, that’s probably one of our most common issues: the idea to secure the players goes a little farther than it should, and they don’t have internet access.
Another common thing that we will see will be the, especially in SAML authentication. And so for our viewers, SAML authentication is also known as SSO or Single Sign-On. This is a wonderful authentication method, very easy to maintain. The problem here is that Visix does not maintain access to your deployment. Even when it is hosted, you are in full control of access to that deployment.
So, during implementation especially, we have to have a deployment administrator and that deployment administrator should be attending pretty much all of the calls involving implementation because it will be their account that needs to be used to sign in to complete that implementation. Things like adding the additional users, adding additional administrators, everything that’s needed will start with that deployment administrator account.
And then one that we see not as often, but sometimes it does happen, is the use of the SSL cert. If you choose to not put the PC player on your domain, it would require that of course you are installing that cert on the player as the way, you know, part of the way Windows works. And so, keeping that in mind and being prepared with that cert, which we’re happy to work with you to get installed as we implement, just having that prepared ahead of time is a good thing and it shouldn’t delay.
Derek DeWitt: So, you’ve got all this organized and then bam, it just happens and it happens flawlessly, or do we sometimes run into hiccups during that final step in phase two?
Phil Epple: Oh, I would say that is very, very rare. That if all the stars have aligned and all the information is there, generally the solution can slide right into your network and just begin operating. As mentioned before, it’s Windows-based. And so most networks are also Windows-based, and so this is just kind of an extension of that network, running on these PC players showing your digital signage. It can be implemented extremely quick and painless as long as the stars align.
Derek DeWitt: Right. I know that sometimes when we have government clients, especially, because they have layers and layers and layers of security and protocols and all this, and let’s be honest, sometimes some of their equipment is a bit outdated as well because, you know, it’s government. And so, I know that that can sometimes cause a little bit of a headache and kind of run into a whole bunch of little weird issues.
Phil Epple: Very much so. But you know, we think about our government-based clients as well, and so we have actually developed what we call the government edition of Signage Suite. And so, this version actually removes some of the internet access requirements, enabling their PC players and their main server to not need to talk to any endpoints if they don’t desire it to. And so, when we do get a new client on board, that is one question we ask, are you a government-based network or do you have a need for a government-based install? And this is what it entails.
So, we do assume with a government deployment that the Manage system and the players will not have internet access. And that also is something that we understand within support. If you reach out to us as a government client, we have your account noted. We understand we may not be able to get on that player to help you. But we will be there on the phone to walk you through whatever is needed to get that issue resolved.
Derek DeWitt: And I understand our support team is really just a crack team. We get an astonishing, I’m gonna toot our own horn here, but we do, we get an astonishing number of praising statements from clients about our support.
Phil Epple: Oh yeah, 100%. Not to toot our own horn, of course, but no, we do. I would say that we probably get about two to three, maybe, praises a week from our various clients. And they range from, you know, full software meltdown to just a simple how do I do, how do I get content on the screen? You know, sometimes it could be as simple as that, could be a five-minute phone call. We’re always happy to help no matter what the problem.
Derek DeWitt: And we’ve recently added functionality for BrightSign players as well. Are there any differences when dealing with that, ’cause they have their own sort of Android-based OS?
Phil Epple: Oh, yeah. They are very different.
Derek DeWitt: Ah!
Phil Epple: Not in a bad way, but they are definitely different. They are kind of designed to be, what’s the best way to say this? They are less modular to harden their operating performance, if that makes sense. And so, while with an Engage PC player, it runs on Windows, and sometimes that’s not ideal for every client of course. But with Windows, it does open up the realm of possibilities in what you can do with your signage.
Now BrightSign is extremely popular, but their model is based on less function, but more dependability. So, they’re less likely to have random issues because they are not running Windows. They are not requiring updates at all times like Windows is needing. So, you know, it really boils down to what makes most sense for you.
I think ideally, most clients will have a combination of the two types of players. They will have their BrightSign for just their basic signage, and they will use their Engage for where they want a little more elaborate in-depth, high-functioning signage.
Derek DeWitt: Right. And when you say our players use Windows, we’re not talking Vista or Windows 10 or Windows 11 here. It’s a pretty robust Windows.
Phil Epple: Oh, 100%, 100%. In fact, while it is a version of Windows 10 or 11, of course now all new players are Windows 11, it is not the base standard stream of that operating system. We use specifically an IoT LTSC version. And the reason we go this route is that they are locked into their feature. This ensures that the feature version or a feature update does not cause a conflict with our software.
Now, there’s a common misconception between security updates and feature updates, so I’d like to just touch on that a little bit. Security updates are the things we need to have. These are the patches that fix the exploits within the operating system that could allow an actor or intruder into the network to gain control and cause havoc. Feature updates are more things like Cortana or adding in Copilot. And these aren’t things that we necessarily need for signage. So, we choose to use this version to ensure that they don’t release a new version of Copilot that magically doesn’t work with our software. But it’s important to know that this version continues to get security updates.
And in fact, something that a lot of our clients are learning right now that have bought players from us within the last, say, five years, the pending Windows 10 end-of-life is coming here in October. And so, we’re receiving a lot of feedback from clients about what do we do? We’ve got all these players on Windows 10. Well, the good news is, yes, it’s Windows 10 IoT LTSC which, in fact, is supported till 2032 for security patches.
So, there’s no need to rush out there and replace these players at the moment or the operating system on them. You’re actually good for probably longer than that little device is going to live. We all like to think that these things will last forever, but you know, if you can get five years out of any computer, I think you’re probably doing pretty good.
I know one of the pain points for clients in the past was updating all of those players after you update the server. And, you know, when we introduced turnkey updates about a year ago now, I really think that that was the kind of the transition to making this whole thing just even easier to manage, where with turnkey, you can update your server, and your players will check in and they’ll update themselves automatically.
Derek DeWitt: Boy, you can’t get better than that, right?
Phil Epple: Oh, no. The more you can automate, you know, I think the better everybody’s lives are. I mean, that’s what technology’s there for, right?
Derek DeWitt: So, the whole goal of the implementation process is to get you up and running quickly so that your stuff looks fantastic and professional right off the bat, as we say, on day one. In order to achieve that in the fastest possible time, which is how I think most of us measure efficiency, we have a two-phase process.
Four steps in phase one, which is mainly making sure that we’re talking to the right people and that we can get all the right people together in the same virtual space so that we can have the conversations we need to have. And then the second phase, which ends with actually installing and you being able to use the software, bam, just like that, when it’s all over. If you follow the steps in these two phases and don’t monkey about it will happen all pretty quickly, even if you’re a more complicated client, such as, for example, government clients who often have a lot of extra things that they have to deal with.
But nothing stays still, and so we’re constantly moving forward, improving things. As you said, we’ve just added turnkey hardware updates recently, which is a huge timesaver. So, there’s a timesaver right there. There’s technology actually saving people time, which is great. And who knows what the future will bring?
But the important thing is to, when you get that implementation checklist, read it, understand it, and follow it. Please.
So, I’d like to thank my guest today for talking to me about all of this, which as I said, I really didn’t know very much about at all. He is Phil Epple, and he is a software support specialist for Visix. Thanks for talking to me, Phil. The stuff just rolls right out. Bam. You just, you say it and then it’s understandable and we’re done. No monkeying about. I like it.
Phil Epple: 100%, 100%. Derek, thank you for having me today. This was a lot of fun.
Derek DeWitt: And again, thank you everybody out there for listening. I remind you again that there is a transcript on the Visix website under resources and podcasts. And don’t forget, use that checklist to get all your ducks in a row. Quack.