The digital signage market, where networked digital displays are used in public and retail spaces, has seen significant growth since its early stages back in 2006.  According to InfoTrends, the digital signage market was valued at $1.1 billion back in 2006.  Now, in 2011, it is expected to reach $2.59 billion. 

Why is the market experiencing such growth?   Well, more and more businesses in a variety of markets are adding digital signage to increase sales and greatly enhance the customer experience.   A good example is in cruise ships where static, dynamic and interactive displays add significant value for each and every guest.  To see how one state of the art cruise ship is using interactive digital signage, view the following link: Digital signage in action. Considering the total cost of ownership and the return on investment, more and more companies are adding digital signage to their public spaces.

Interactive digital signage provides even more value to the guest or shopper experience and can be implemented over an existing network with a KVM (keyboard, video mouse) extender which extends the video to the digital display but also enables interactivity.  Providing the extension, lowers the total cost of ownership, since one server can provide video to multiple displays from a remote location.

If you are interested in learning more about interactive digital signage, feel free to contact me anytime. Also, let me know what your target market is and how you plan to enhance the customer experience.

Here’s a look at some of the events for technology companies to exhibit, attend meetings, or walk the floor in the US, Korea, and Japan.

IBC in Amsterdam took place September 8-11 with 48,000 visitors and over 1,000 companies. One of the highlights of the show was a new Connected World area featuring Digital Signage, IPTV and Mobile TV. Companies exhibiting at this show included manufacturers such as Panasonic, IBM, Gefen and ThinkLogical.

During September 22-26 there is the CEDIA event in Atlanta, Georgia that brings together companies and technologies interested in audio, video, lighting, security, home networking, environmental controls, and automation. This year they have a new future technology pavilion to showcase 3D video and 10.2 surround.

Next month, in Korea there is the largest IT show in Asia, the Korea Electronics Show (KES), October 14-18. The show draws more than 80,000 participants with exhibits showcasing home entertainment, PC & personal digital-info devices, semiconductors, communication/broadcasting equipment and industrial electronic goods.  Exhibitors at KES range from the large companies, such as LG and Samsung, to smaller more niche companies such as Icron.

In Japan, December 1-3, there is the Embedded Technology show. Exhibitors range from Hitachi, Microsoft to ARM.  Icron’s distributor partner, Bay Technologies, will be exhibiting USB extension products for industrial automation, medical and measurement markets.

December 8-10 in Japan is the ITE event (International Technical Exhibition on Image Technology and Equipment).  20,000 participants attend this event that’s been running for 32 years.

And of course the not to be missed CES 2011 event in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The show attracts 120,000 professionals and 5,000 media and bloggers. Check out the video about CES 2011:

CES 2011 speaker keynotes listed, so far, are Microsoft, Samsung and Verizon. To register for CES, click here.  See you at CES where Icron will be demonstrating new video and USB extension technologies at the show.

Will you be there as well?