The key challenge was to ensure the minimum amount of downtime across the digital signage estate: rate boards are business critical to the operation of travel money bureaus. In addition, the digital signage network needed to be re-integrated with the existing EPOS system, to ensure rates on screen are always synchronised with the transactional till systems at each location. 

 

With significant planning, testing, pre-configuration and integration, the migration into our service took 6 weeks and involved visits to over 400 stores across the UK. Pixel development engineers created the integration between the new signage platform (Dise) and the till system, using a direct RS232 connection for the transfer of data, reverse engineering the protocols involved to ensure that rateboards continued to operate exactly as before.  

 

In addition, we used the in-built functionality of the Dise platform to allow for remote synchronisation of rates to displays not directly connected to the tills, allowing freestanding totem-style digital displays installed elsewhere in the Tesco stores to benefit from live, localised rates without a physical connection to the bureau.