Rise Vision Sees Channel Opportunity in Digital Signage

Company:

Headquarters: Toronto

Technology Sector: Software

Key Product: Rise Display Network

Year Founded: 1992

Number of Channel Partners: Seven throughout the U.S. and Canada

Ideal Channel Partner: Volume-oriented reseller

Why You Should Care: Digital signage is a growing sector even in this turbulent economy, according to Ryan Cahoy, managing director at Rise Vision. Virtually any reseller can sell subscriptions to Rise Display Network through the IT and AV distribution channel.

The Lowdown: Rise Networks started 2009 off with a big channel push, adding Tech Data to its roster of distribution partners and bringing on a group of solution provider partners to sell its digital signage content offering.

Its Rise Display Network is a Web-based hosted content management system. Subscriptions to the network include access to live content such as news headlines, local weather, sports scores and stock ticker updates. Users also can use the platform to incorporate live content with their own information, including media files, graphics and text, and to publish that content directly to their network of digital signs.

Because the system is built on a Software-as-a-Service model, all licenses are available as an annual subscription.

The suggested list price for end users is $800 per year per media player. Resellers that join the company's Private Network Program can buy blocks of licenses at deep discounts, which they can then resell.

With the new Private Network Program, resellers get a personalized login page where they can promote branding, cross-selling and event messages directly to end users each time they access their digital signage networks.

The company launched the Private Network Program after getting feedback from resellers that they needed more tools to make sales in the ever-increasing competitive market, said Ryan Cahoy, managing director at Rise Vision.

With that in mind, the company developed a program that gives resellers the ability to private-label Rise Display's Web-based application with their own brands.

"We wanted to help them build customer loyalty and give them the opportunity to make great margins," Cahoy said. "Resellers can build an ongoing, recurring revenue stream of subscriptions that gives them the ability to earn 70 percent or greater margins on each subscription they sell."

Rise Vision's distribution partners include Ingram Micro (U.S. and Canada), Synnex (U.S. and Canada), Tech Data, Stampede and Electrograph.