NEC's Vukunet is a New Way of Thinking

NEC Display Solutions made news last month when it launched Vukunet, a new centralized online software platform that links digital signage ad buyers to digital signage networks. What went underreported was the fact that NEC was also offering a free content management system to companies that joined the Vukunet ad management system or bought NEC displays. The Vukunet CMS is a software-as-a-service (SaaS), Web-based program that users access from any Microsoft Windows PC.

Vukunet doesn't require content designers or managers to use NEC's CMS to participate in the overall ad management solution, but it does give customers the type of "digital signage in a box" that other display makers, such as Samsung, have already been offering. Vukunet CMS has more than 20 preconfigured templates and can handle online or offline design so you don't always have to be connected to work on signage content. It can integrate a variety of feeds, such as weather or sports, as well as emergency notifications. The CMS currently doesn't support Apple computers, but it does integrate with Vukunet's ad placement platform, which if Vukunet takes off, could be a nice advantage.