The big (and small) screen revolution

Convergence is a nebulous concept, but Fujitsu's world-leading multimedia innovation is making the dream materialise before our very eyes. Conceived and developed in Australia, the Fujitsu TELentice system is a flexible platform for delivering mixed-media messages to any type of digital display - from tiny colour screens on mobile phones to the largest dazzling plasma screens.

"We're only in the early stages of commercialising convergence, but TELentice is already helping organisations deliver compelling customer communications at precisely the right time," says Sanjay Singhai, TELentice Business Manager at Fujitsu Australia Software Technology (FAST), which developed the technology.

"We've witnessed an explosion in the number of digital screens found in public places," says Singhai. "Retailers have networked LCD screens in shop windows and at checkouts. Digital displays are popping up in places like lifts, shopping malls, train stations and even aboard trams and buses. And of course millions of people carry a high-quality digital display in their pocket on mobile phones."

Most of these screens are connected to networks using the common language of Internet Protocol (IP). "Whether they're on local area networks, wireless LANs, broadband services or high-bandwidth GPRS mobile networks, all these devices talk to each other using TCP/IP," Singhai says. "Linking so many digital screens together creates a revolutionary communications platform."

The new standard in digital media distribution

TELentice is an architecture for storing, managing and distributing dynamic media content across IP networks. Its award-winning software schedules and delivers all types of digital multimedia, ranging from static images and text to high-quality video and animation. Among the many media formats TELentice can transmit are:

• Pre-cached digital media files, including video, audio, presentations, animations and still images
• Live internet content, including Web pages and streaming video
• Live data streams, such as stock tickers, news feeds and database queries
• Analogue input, ranging from television and radio to DVDs and compact discs

Multimedia content can be sent to PCs, plasma displays, LCD flat-screens, mobile phones, PDAs, point-of-sale displays, interactive kiosks, ATMs and even Web sites. TELentice gives customers complete content control, so they can update or replace information at fixed intervals or in response to changed conditions such as weather, breaking news, transport delays or retail promotions.

Communicating with customers worldwide

Early adopters are customising TELentice for a wide variety of commercial uses. "Fujitsu is helping clients build digital media networks solutions everywhere from lifts to train stations and moving transit vehicles. There is really no limit to the way the platform can be used," says Singhai.

Melbourne-based Inlink Media was among the first Fujitsu partners to start using TELentice. Inlink uses LCD displays in lifts within prominent CBD buildings to deliver the latest news, sport and weather coupled with tailored advertising messages. Inlink appeals to advertisers by targeting buildings with a premium clientele in industries such as finance, law, media, telecommunications and professional services.

Landmark buildings hooked up to Inlink's TELentice network include Sydney's Citigroup building, the Optus tower in North Sydney and the Como Centre in Melbourne. Advertisers can reach an audience of more than 120,000 professionals in a month - and their attention is all but guaranteed.

"Marketing gurus call it captive audience marketing, because an elevator gives advertisers a great opportunity to communicate their message without distraction," Singhai says. "TELentice lets Inlink maximise this opportunity with high-quality media content and persuasive advertising."

The Connex Light Rail system in Sydney is another TELentice success story. Each light rail vehicle features several 20-inch LCD screens that provide passengers with entertainment, route information, service updates, continuous news and weather and other lifestyle messages. The Connex system is completely wireless, with wi-fi base stations located along the light rail route providing incremental updates to supplement the major information download each night.

Other TELentice pioneers in Australia include the State Library of Victoria, which uses the software to manage display schedules across 50-inch plasma screens and touch-screen multimedia kiosks. The highlight of the library's display is a stunning 3D animation of Ned Kelly's armour (State Library of Victoria case study).

Internationally, TELentice customers are building advanced digital media networks in places such as London pubs, supermarkets in Switzerland and the trams and buses of the famous Spanish pilgrim town of Santiago de Compostela.

In Asia Pacific, TELentice is helping the Bangkok Transit System turn its fashionable Skytrain stations into information hubs that deliver dynamic messages to 470,000 daily passengers. Screens are connected on a city-wide digital media network via a broadband ADSL and optical fibre (Skytrain case study).

The future of customer communications

Singhai says the TELentice business model is still developing as customers grasp the potential of digital media networks. "Our early customer successes are fuelling the imagination and Fujitsu expects to see more and more organisations interested in TELentice," he says. "Network-driven digital customer communications are applicable in almost every industry, from retail and transport to entertainment venues, banking and corporate training."

Banks struggling to maintain customer loyalty could leverage TELentice to upgrade automatic teller machines. "For many banks, the ATM is their only contact with customers," Singhai says. "TELentice paves the way for a new generation of ATMs that serve as true customer relationship management devices, providing personalised messages in the 15-second transaction window after the customer is identified. That could be the bank's only opportunity to talk to the customer one-on-one."

Training is another exciting avenue for TELentice. Singhai says customers are currently investigating ways to use display screens throughout corporate premises to educate staff about the latest products, pricing and customer messages.

"TELentice creates enormous opportunities for Fujitsu to help customers capitalise on convergence," says Singhai.

More information

Digital Media Networks, or email digitalmedia@au.fujitsu.com