Digital Signage
Even with the price challenges of many consumer-grade products, DFI was able to successfully assist customers in the European airport industries by providing excellent quality that is trusted by customers, high flexibility to cooperate with customers in launching derivative products quickly, and long-term supply that industrial computer manufacturers can provide to deploy thousands of digital signage quickly.
Region: Europe
Industry: Airport Advertising Business
Application: Digital Signage
Solution: CS100-Q370 Derivative (DEV)
Digital signage that can provide lively content and has frequently updated information has been widely used in the transportation fields for many years. These fields include ferry ports, bus stations, railway stations, and airports that need updated flight information and boarding directions in real-time and have become an important marketing platform that advertisers can use to attract tourists. Its equipment availability and product durability directly affect service quality, advertising revenue, and passengers' travel experience.
A specific European system integrator of DFI has contracted thousands of airport digital signage. Due to the large number and the business opportunities arising from the Mini-ITX system, the motherboard has attracted competition from many manufacturers, and many proposals have been made. All are consumer-grade products. This system integrator initially preferred a customized ODM solution dedicated to this case due to the on-cost pressure and huge purchase volume. However, the system integrator abandoned this direction for the following reasons:
- Although this case looks enormous in the digital signage market, it has not reached the scale of consumer-grade motherboards. If the one-time research and development expenses, such as Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE), are amortized to all shipments, the average increase in price will still be expensive.
- This case is subjected to strict timing pressure. If the re-development is adopted, due to the delay of the development schedule, it will be forced to deliver immature first-version (EVT, Engineering Validation Test) samples for testing, and the system integrator will face a significant risk of failure.
CS100-Q370 Derivative (DEV)
Therefore, this system integrator also considered existing Mini-ITX motherboards on the market, but also faces the following problems:
- It is difficult for consumer-grade motherboards to achieve the target life cycle and durability that is required in this case. If frequent damage occurs within the product deployment period and reduces advertising revenue, the system integrator will face a high breach of contract compensation from advertisers.
- The duration of this series of projects is at least ten years or even longer, and it is not a one-time deployment. There will also be demands for subsequent new projects. It is difficult to predict the total demand. The preparation of advanced stock is also a heavy financial pressure, so it is necessary to avoid out-of-stock problems and purchase the necessary quantity in case of need.
In the end, the system integrator, who had a long-term cooperative relationship with DFI and is familiar with DFI's quality advantages, decided to use DFI's industrial computer-grade Mini-ITX motherboard CS100-Q370. When the operating temperature of CS100-Q370 is as high as 60 degrees, the mean time between failures (MTBF) is still as long as 260,000 hours, which is almost equivalent to 30 years. It can satisfy the customer's high product stability requirements far better than any other consumer-grade product market. DFI also proactively assists in communicating with power supply manufacturers and customers, clarifying the differences between specifications to ensure seamless compatibility.
Due to the far more reliable materials and validation of industrial computers, the products' unit price is generally higher than consumer-grade products. To meet the price demand of this case, DFI quickly developed a project-derived model (DEV) of the current standard product (STD) according to the customer's specifications. DFI removes all unnecessary parts and replaces some rear I/O to avoid unnecessary R&D costs and realize rapid sample delivery within the schedule. DFI's FAE department closely assists the system integrator to verify compatibility with various power supplies. Finally, the CS100-Q370 became the motherboard inside thousands of digital signage across airports in a European country.
When a project is faced with a lack of ready-made solutions (Turnkey), but the original design (ODM) also has difficulty meeting the cost and schedule, the existing standard product (STD) that is closest to the demand can quickly be customized into a derivative of the fiber composition (DEV) and is the best mean to achieve customer's expectations. DFI's rich product customization experience and mission-critical customer service make DFI the best partner for this type of system integration project.
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