Looks back on electronic signage accomplishments – Forward to future...
StrandVision Digital Signage, a pioneer in patented, cloud-based digital signage delivery, is celebrating ten years in business.
StrandVision was established in August 2003 as an Internet-based subscription electronic sign software service under the name of Online-Kiosks.net by Mike Strand. Strand had previously founded StrandWare, a barcode label software company, that he built into a worldwide industry leader before selling it to Brady Corp.
A New Approach
The new company, soon renamed StrandVision Digital Signage to better reflect its mission, took a different approach by delivering low-cost, high-availability Internet-hosted digital signage services through a soon-to-be-patented Software as a Service (SaaS) technology.
The Internet delivery system eliminated the need for complex and expensive onsite hardware. It served content to subscribers' televisions, including LCD and plasma displays, as well as computer screens and websites. Its Web-based service made it easy for administrators with limited technology and design expertise to set up, maintain and quickly distribute weather, news, text messages, graphics, and video content to their digital signage networks over their normal Internet networks using standard equipment that they often had on hand.
The approach proved popular in the market – StrandVision has delivered a record of success and more than 6 billion digital signage content pages to customer displays. It has experienced average annual growth of 42 percent and maintains a 99 percent customer retention rate. It also is A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau. Customers range from industrial distributors and manufacturers to hotels, schools, colleges and churches across North America and around the world. Employee communications has emerged as a primary use for StrandVision Digital Signage networks for companies of every size.
"We had a new vision that took advantage of the evolving Web, the wider distribution of high-speed, low-cost, reliable Internet services and the increasing comfort level of people working with office-level applications," commented Strand. "It was a risk at the time and was portrayed as a disadvantage by some – especially the vendors that sold the high-priced, complex systems. But we were and are able to deliver sophisticated, self-administered digital signage with instant updates for a few hundred dollars that traditionally cost tens of thousands of dollars."
A History of Accomplishments
StrandVision's corporate history is marked by a number of accomplishments beginning with a series of seed money awards and investments totaling $445,000 from the 2005 Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest; the Eau Claire [Wis.] Area Economic Development Corporation and The Chippewa Valley Angel Investors Network.
The list of milestones includes:
• August 22, 2005 – StrandVision Digital Signage Establishes Reseller Program
• April 28, 2008 – StrandVision Debuts High-Definition PC-2 TV.net Video and Audio Transmitter/Extender
• September 23, 2009 – 5th Year Anniversary – Introduces Free Digital Signage Test Drive
• April 8, 2010 – Mike Strand Granted Patent (#7,685,259) for Digital Signage Technology
• May 18, 2010 – StrandVision Offers Preconfigured Point-of-Display Linux Digital Media Player
• September 20, 2011 – StrandVision Introduces Mobile Digital Signage Player for Vehicles
• March 13, 2012 – StrandVision Digital Signage Player Software for the Mac
• July 10, 2012 – StrandVision Surpasses Five Billion Digital Signage Content Pages
In addition, countless additions and refinements have been made to StrandVision servers and user interfaces and hundreds of new features (mostly free) have been added to the subscription plans.
Customer Service is Key
Throughout the years StrandVision has stood out with its customer support. At StrandVision, the staff is entirely focused on personalized customer service through phone, live chat and Web support, as well as frequent introductory and advanced user webinars and one-on-one interactive training sessions. The administrator portal is constantly updated to add features and make it easier to use.
StrandVision is so confident in its support that it routinely shares its digital signage knowledge with customer prospects and even helps configure entire digital signage networks, all at no cost – even if they choose to select another digital signage vendor. Prospects interested in learning about digital signage can call StrandVision at 715-235-7446.
"We believe that we are one of the most customer-responsive digital signage companies around," said Strand. "We repeatedly hear that we're always available, and we don't charge extra for advice. This close relationship with our customers along with our 10 years of stability pays big dividends for everybody – 100 percent of the new product features that we've introduced over the years have been in direct response to customer requests. Most of the features that we've added have been included in the subscriptions for free.
"It's been an exciting 10 years," concluded Strand. "Despite an historic recession we managed to continue to grow and help our customers promote their products and communicate with their employees. We're excited about the prospects for the next 10 years and look forward to meeting many new customers and building lasting relationships."
