NDS Pivots PADS4 From Digital Signage-First To Broader User Experience Platform

February 9, 2021 by Dave Haynes

We’re starting to see companies in the digital signage sector starting to refine and re-package what they do in ways that gets them out of the box of being just a digital signage provider.

On the heels of merging with the smart building platform LCS last year, the Dutch software firm NDS has started calling its main product, PADS4, a user experience platform focused on intelligent building management. That platform now has modules for workspace, wayfinding, IoT and digital signage.

“By combining the strengths of NDS and LCS, PADS4 offers the most complete answer in the field of workspace, digital signage, wayfinding and IoT. Furthermore, the expertise and international experience of NDS will enable us to act as a global player in this market, says Philippe Bonnargent, the new CEO of NDS. ”Our new platform will also enable our resellers to offer a broader scale of solutions to their customers.”

The PR continues:

This new strategy brings up the question how would one define a smart digital building? The Building Efficiency Initiative explains it as a place that uses ‘information technology during operation to connect a variety of subsystems, which typically operate independently so that these systems can share information to optimize total building performance’.

NDS has announced four modules in their upcoming software release, which will be available this month. With the four modules, PADS4 not only connects to and displays data, but also collects that data and transforms it to improve the efficiency and well-being of users in a smart digital building.

The PADS4 Digital Signage module does the normal digital signage stuff, while Workplace addresses areas like room booking and desk assignments. Wayfinding manages guess what, and the IOT module is the bridge to connected sensors that generate data and trigger and shape messaging.

The company says:

PADS4 offers real-estate and facility managers all the tools they need to manage the user experience in their facilities. With our software, they maintain full workplace control with one single unified platform, and develop a data-driven user experience. Their workplace motivates collaboration and innovation, increasing the efficiency of employees and visitors.

The PADS4 modules for room booking, desk management, digital signage, wayfinding, and IoT offer a future proof solution that’s scalable in size and need. With automated communication based on predefined situations, PADS4 is an investment in an optimized experience for all building users.

I think this is smart, particularly when the company is now working directly in the smart buildings space. There are still many, many digital signage software companies whose core message is some variation on “We do digital signage and our product is friendly, easy and affordable.”

That’s nice, but how does that set you apart from 40 other companies saying the same thing. In a competitive, increasingly low barrier to entry marketplace, you really, really want to say:

1 – Here’s why we’re genuinely distinct from the pack;

2 – We’re THE guys when it comes to doing THIS, whatever THIS is;

3 – Or both of the above.