Walk into almost any building on campus and you’ll likely be greeted by some form of digital signage. The technology has been around for quite some time. What’s taken shape in the last couple of years, however, is the ease with which colleges, departments, and units can manage that signage.
Broad College utilizes Carousel Digital Signage for its displays on campus.
“It used to be, the most common way to display your message was plugging a USB drive into the back of a TV,” said Jim Willson, Unit IT Manager for the Eli
Broad College of Business. “Or they’d set up a Windows machine and run a PowerPoint.”
Today, many units on campus are taking advantage of Carousel Digital Signage software, a cloud-based solution that allows these users to manage content on all their displays. Currently, MSU IT has made licenses to Carousel available at no cost to units on campus.
“With this being all cloud-based, you don’t have to access physical equipment,” said Jason Waterbury, who provides technical support for Carousel. “You just upload your content to the online portal, select the zone, and play it. You don’t have to be on location to do it, which is nice.”
Scheduling content and managing from the cloud has allowed for greater flexibility in how digital signage is utilized and managed by those using the platform. Waterbury said some users are taking advantage of scheduling features before events, so teams don’t have to remember to take content down once an event has passed. When managed well, the information displayed is always relevant and fresh.
Matt Harper, Facilities/Sports Technology lead for IT in Athletics, said his department has seen tremendous value in utilizing Carousel for signage at venues across campus.
“The Carousel Digital Signage management platform has been a game changer for us in athletics,” Harper said. “It is a cost-effective, extremely user-friendly platform that is easy for any user to navigate. It has allowed our coaches to put up schedules, photos, and motivational content in the athlete’s locker rooms and around the facilities from the comfort of their offices. We have only scratched the surface of the capabilities, but the value add has been off the charts.”
While MSU IT provides support for the software, which currently includes more than 200 licenses for displays across campus, each department, unit, or user is responsible for managing the content.
“There are online training videos available through Carousel we require our users to go through so that they understand how to manage content,” Willson said.
The software, which is available to all units on campus, also allows shared content to be distributed across campus simultaneously. Willson said he foresees opportunities to utilize this feature more in the future as participation and onboarding among units continue to increase.
Contact Jim Willson or Jason Waterbury for more information on Carousel Digital Signage software, or to inquire about licensing displays on campus.
