THE WAY(FINDER) TO THE FUTURE
Stratacache APAC is powering up signage with advanced technologies to deliver mind-blowing engagements
Every cloud has a silver lining,” says Manish Kumar, Managing Director APAC at Stratacache Asia Pacific. Although he acknowledges that the long-drawn pandemic has decimated business growth around the world, he allows that there remain ways to rebuild stability. “The Stratacache APAC management recognized the impending crisis early, and began working on an improvised strategy to mount the response by redesigning the company’s solution offerings and adjusting its business roadmap to ensure that it remains relevant in the new normal.”
Working as a united team, Stratacache APAC re-aligned their objectives, re-strategized the business model, and refined the approach to meet the evolving needs of the customers, Kumar explains. “We were adaptable, targeted and swift to seize opportunities.”
Stratacache is a purveyor of digital signage software, hardware, and marketing technology (martech) solutions. Established in Singapore in 2019, the company provides a platform for creating and managing the deployment of digital experiences easily and centrally, while retaining the flexibility to adapt to local business conditions and audience preferences in real time, Kumar highlights.
With over three decades in the market, it has built a reputation for innovation and leveraging best-of-breed technologies to create solutions that are easy-to-use, flexible and infinitely customizable, Kumar elaborates. He is overseeing sales, services and support activities across the company’s brands in the region, aligning operations with region-specific needs in the digital media/marketing technology market. He is concurrently VP for Investments, Asia-Pacific at Stratacache Capital, for which he helps lead deal discovery and investment on a global scale.
Stronger Together
Facing the challenges together has made Stratacache APAC stronger in terms of business and cultural resilience, Kumar says. “We have successfully managed to ride out the storm and stay above the waters with minimal impact on business operations and no layoffs.” In fact, the company has increased staff strength and is continuing to fill strategic positions that are crucial in helping to shape the company’s future. “This is a testament to the solid foundation of the company and the prudent management of company resources.
“Last year, we realigned revenue targets internally and shifted resources to focus on markets that were less impacted by the pandemic. By doing so, we have seen an increase in brand awareness and more sales enquiries from regions like Australia and New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. Furthermore, we adopted a more customer-centric approach, enhanced our solution offering and launched new innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of customers.”
Currently, majority of the Stratacache staff across APAC are working from home, in accordance with government guidelines. A new operating model built around the customers and supported by robust processes is in place to ensure the seamless delivery of our solutions continue amid tighter measures brought about by the pandemic.
“We have also restructured the organization to streamline operations and promote efficiency in terms of resource allocation and talent management.” With a refined business model and a more streamlined organizational structure, Stratacache APAC has experienced steady growth and progress across the region amid a challenging global economy.
Strategic Products
Early this year, Stratacache APAC launched Scala SaaS and LINQ by Scala intelligent tablets – two strategic products intended to help the company garner significant shares in their target markets.
Scala SaaS is a cloud-based digital signage solution that allows users to drive powerful digital marketing, while greatly reducing the complexity and overheads of launching and managing a digital signage network. Scala also offers fully managed services via managed SaaS (m-SaaS), providing additional support by supplying the full suite of content management services. This hassle-free approach enables users to focus on their core business.
On the other hand, LINQ by Scala intelligent tablets is a commercial grade all-in-one intelligent tablet, ideal for fixed applications such as digital signage, self-service kiosks and interactive guided selling solutions.
Sustaining Opportunities
“We have recently clinched several new mega deals across Asia Pacific with leading global brands and continued to nurture our existing accounts,” Kumar reports. “This is a remarkable accomplishment considering that most companies are cutting back on spending.”
Although several projects have been delayed due to the pandemic, Stratacache APAC is hopeful that the global economy will improve in the coming months, and that regional economies will gradually reopen. “The easing of pandemic control measures, coupled with massive government stimulus packages, will help to boost the economy and we expect a likely spike in demand for digital signage across many industries and markets.”
To progress and thrive in the new normal, Stratacache APAC will leverage their strength – the collective capabilities of the Stratacache group of companies – and optimize their portfolio to suit the changing needs of the market and work towards their vision of being the most preferred digital signage solutions provided in APAC.
Growth & Sustainability
“As digital signage continually becomes more responsive and dynamic, Stratacache APAC constantly innovates, adopts the latest technology and introduces new products to keep abreast with changing trends and consumer preferences,” says Kumar.
The company is currently building a new MicroLED factory in Eugene, Oregon to make next-generation displays for retail experiences including curved, transparent and ultra-low power interactive display devices. The global micro-LED display market, Kumar emphasizes, is estimated to reach a valuation of US$561.4 million this year, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 85 per cent till 2030, according to a Global New Wire report. “This new MicroLED capability gives Stratacache a foot in the door to tap the nascent micro-LED market and create cutting-edge products for our martech missions.”
In the future, Statacache envisions building a MicroLED factory in India, as well to enable the growth of high performance displays for use across dozens of industry segments emerging in the Indian marketplace, as well as the larger APAC market.
In line with key digital signage trends, several new technologies which Stratacache will be capitalizing to enhance its solution offerings include AI, augmented reality, interactive media, omnichannel and content personalization. In particular, Walkbase, part of the Stratacache family of marketing technology companies which specializes in digital analytics, is inspiring transformation by marrying deep digital insights with powerful, interactive digital solutions that reinvent the retail space.
New Market Drivers
Digital signage solutions continue to make massive inroads into new markets as technological innovations and competition remain primary factors in the marketplace, Kumar observes. “The pandemic has contributed to a heightened need for digital transformation of retail stores into smart stores, and an increased demand for cloud-based software with dynamic content creation. Businesses are finding new ways to harness the power of digital signage to create outstanding customer experiences, drive desire and grow their brands.”
Kumar is positive that digital signage is the perfect platform to help create an engaging and memorable customer experience. “It is a very effective tool to deliver promotional messages to your target audience to increase engagement, product feedback and drive sales. Digital signage solutions are also scalable and customisable to suit unique business needs.”
The demand for their products and services come from a diverse range of industries, such as retail, quick service restaurants, education, transportation, grocery, banking, etc., notes Kumar. “All of these possess the common objectives of utilizing our solutions to gain insights into customer preferences and behavior, elevate the customer experience and improve sales. Since the pandemic there have been major shifts in market demand, namely a rise in interest from the retail, grocery and education sectors, and a stagnation in spending from the banking and casino verticals.”
Stratacache is continually exploring new markets and opportunities to grow its presence in APAC. According to Kumar, other markets which will fuel their next stage of growth would be emerging economies such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. “There is massive potential in these markets due to large-scale foreign investments and an acceleration in technological advancement,” he says.