True Colours to offer full skills for digital signage

Distributor teams with dZine to help increase VARs' understanding of digital signage

Audiovisual (AV) distributor True Colours has launched a partner programme that bundles products, services and delivery of digital signage systems.

The move comes as it agreed to become a premier partner for dZine digital signage systems. The distributor claimed it has recognised that resellers struggle in these early stages of the technology’s development.

The Surrey-based distributor said although demand for digital signage is booming, few resellers, service providers or clients can do it justice.

The problem is a skills gap that means few agencies can provide the full range of skills ­ such as installation, integration, content creation and management. True Colours’ solution is to offer managed service offerings to provide the skills that resellers or end users may lack.

As digital signage takes off, AV resellers find themselves faced with a challenge of covering a number of disciplines. Many of them have specialist skills in particular niches, and this market makes technical demands of them that they are not yet in a position to meet, argued Iain Campbell, sales and marketing director at True Colours.

“Our resellers are a broad church. We have AV integrators, education specialists and people who provide boardroom solutions. They are all being asked to provide digital signage systems,” he explained.

“But this technology is not one you install and forget. There is the matter of content. Where do you get it from, how do you deliver it, and how do you manage it? We can take the pain away by offering a managed service that they resell.”

The partner programme launch follows the signing in March of a new supplier, dZine, a Belgian manufacturer of digital signage hardware and software.

“The dZine system will give resellers a lot more power to roll out solutions. The hardware is cost effective and the software is easy to use but versatile. It has a great content creation tool that will make things easier for the reseller, and the player can cope with any format of media,” said Campbell.

The distributor’s role will extend beyond just filling in for the parts of a managed AV service that the reseller has not yet mastered. We will be working to root out new market opportunities and pass them on to the resellers,” he said.

“We have finally found the perfect UK partner,” added Frederik Vroman, dZine’s business development manager.