Meet Spark PX

Allow me to introduce you to the next generation of purpose-built digital signage with TouchSource’s launch of the Spark Place Experience Platform, also known as TouchSource Spark PX™.

Before I tell you more about what this new platform is, let me share with you the “Why”. Why did we decide to spend years building a new platform from the ground up? The answer is simple.

We listened

We heard our customers tell us that today’s commercial real estate space is changing so quickly that nobody has time to do the basic things anymore.

We heard that property managers are sometimes managing 5 or 6 different properties across a city and are lucky to see each property once a week.
We heard that the changing public health requirements have forced facility teams to react daily to changing signage requirements.
We heard that construction delays and labor shortages have forced teams to be more agile than ever before in signage, wayfinding, and visitor services.
We heard that as the world returns to work, people are “returning” to places that they don’t recognize or have never even been to.
We heard that the past two years have accelerated the changes in the workplace, the campus, and the government office like never before and that the old tools and methods can’t keep up anymore.

We determined that we needed to do something about this and that is how Spark PX was born.

What does the Spark PX™ Platform do?

Spark PX is a new enterprise-grade platform for place-based digital communications that extends communications and dramatically simplifies the complex and changing world of facilities. That is a mouthful, so let’s break it down into its 5 core pieces:

1. Delivers enterprise-grade security and scalability. TouchSource built a ground-up platform based on secure Ubuntu Linux that is designed with security and scalability at its core. From multi-factor authentication to hardened systems to secure transfer protocols to redundant instances of AWS, this platform was designed to meet or exceed the most difficult IT requirements.

2. Powers place-based digital. We live and work in places. We believe that places are where human connectivity flourishes, and that communication and signage is most effective in the places where humanity exists in the real world. Spark PX was built to be the most effective platform to communicate and navigate the places that matter most.

3. Extends communications from your display to their device. We built a platform that starts with signage but extends to text/SMS, voice calling, mobile, and can integrate with a multitude of communication platforms in the future.

4. Dramatically simplifies daily work. As we spoke to facility teams around the country, we heard the same themes:

Nobody has time to take a class or learn to use technology, so it must work with zero training. Spark PX users can be up and running in minutes.
It must be as easy to run 1 display as it is to run 100 displays. Our first clients on Spark PX are easily managing a national network of displays with a few clicks of a button.
Our customers have day jobs, and those jobs don’t involve being digital designers or product developers. So, we built programs that are ready to go for business as opposed to a “blank slate” that requires our customers to do all the heavy lifting. Spark PX embraces TouchSource’s brand promise in which we build your programs and load your content so that you are ready to go on Day 1.
Nobody is onsite anymore, so all the technology must be self-aware. Our systems can proactively tell clients if there is a problem. Spark PX was built with self-diagnostic and remote monitoring capabilities that enable us to let you know before there is a problem.
Finally, it must work. That’s why Spark PX has been through thousands of hours of engineering and testing so that quality is never compromised.

5. Simplifies the complex and changing world of facilities. Whether it is an enterprise needing to adapt to the changing needs of employee communication, a city keeping up with their events schedule, or just an office building that now has a daily rotation of tenants, the world of facilities is changing quickly. Property teams are asked to equally represent live, work and play in mixed-use projects while universities need to combine student engagement and student safety in the same signage. So, the technology must support this flexibility.

How does Spark PX make these promises a reality?

Spark PX was built to meet these challenges and many more, but the best way to share the power of Spark PX is to give some examples:

When Granite Properties needed to have a simplified way for their community managers to communicate across 35 properties in 12 cities and 4 states, they turned to Spark PX as their platform. Now their marketing teams can manage their brand centrally while their community managers can update content for their properties. The entire platform is easy to update through the cloud-based portal and the teams can pre-plan their messaging weeks in advance. And when an emergency arises, they can change the content across all the screens with a few clicks. Granite is already benefitting from the simplicity, scalability, and manageability of the platform.
When one of the largest operators of medical office buildings needed to manage hundreds of medical office building digital directories, they leveraged the Spark PX platform. Not only did it pass the rigorous security requirements from a healthcare-focused business, but it also enabled each property manager to easily manage their building content, integrated leasing platforms for searching for available space, and exceed the requirements from their most valuable medical tenants.

We are also seeing some exciting new projects that leverage the unique capabilities of Spark PX such as:

A major US airport will be using Spark PX to manage curb communications with integrations to all the traveler’s transit options while dynamically changing the curb usage to meet peak demand.
One of the largest public university systems will be using Spark PX to connect student communications, wayfinding, and visitor support into a seamless dynamic platform that was previously done by 2 or 3 distinct systems.
One of the largest technology companies in the world, will be using Spark PX to greet their employees as they return to work and help them navigate their campus and offices for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
A large healthcare conglomerate will be utilizing Spark PX to run 150 patient waiting room displays across hundreds of buildings across the northeast.
Dozens of simple digital directory customers are now happily running on Spark PX with the peace of mind of remote monitoring, security, and the ability to change content in an instant.

What’s in a Name?

We are thrilled to introduce Spark PX in the world. As we conceived the name of this platform, we found inspiration in the words that make up Spark Place Experience:

Spark – to start or ignite something; a feeling that causes excitement
Place – a location created by human experiences, a location that has meaning
Experience – an interaction made possible by great technologies

We are thrilled to spark something great with Spark PX. Learn more about benefits of our new platform by watching our On Demand Webinar.