Russia's digital signage leaders DigiSky and Adissy hosted the 'Digital Signage – No Alternative!' conference for a second year. Bringing together over 300 people from Russian regions, Commonwealth of Independent States countries and across Europe, the conference was held in Moscow on May 31st and June 1st.

After last year's success, DigiSky and Adissy realised the importance of providing a space to debate and learn about this rapidly growing industry, and extended the conference to two days. 'Digital Signage – No Alternative!' had an interesting agenda with speakers from Russia and other European countries discussing the state of the market, technical advances and business development. Some of the companies sharing their knowledge included Microsoft, LG, Scala, Harris, AOpen and Intel.

The conference invited end users and media companies to familiarise themselves with what DOOH networks are, how they can be used, what benefits they bring and how to find the right solution for their business. It also included an exhibition area where attendees could see digital signage demos first hand, featuring innovations such as gesture control, touch sensors, social media integration and near field communications. DigiSky presented a complex media extension for business: a combination of music, digital signage and thematic content – ideal for brands that want to offer their clients an unforgettable shopping experience.

Natalya Vorontsova, business development manager of AOpen, summarised the conference's intention: "The Russian market already knows and understands what digital signage is. It is time to make the most of its potential and get total efficiency from the made investments. The conference gave knowledge and ideas for how to achieve it."

"The conference was a great opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people and companies, and strengthen our ties and position in this market," added Alain Bodenstedt, regional executive director, Scala. He pointed out that although some of Scala's competitors are becoming less active in this region, the company sees great room for growth. "Thanks to our pilot product Scala 5, we are able to meet customers' requirements for a successful project."

The Imperative Group's managing director Chris Heap highlighted how well the conference had been organised, with a wide range of participants and a nice balance between the main programme, business communications and informal networking.

Maxim Sverdlov, head of key account management at Harris, has already put his name down for next year's conference. "The event was excellent. In future I would like to hear more reports from end users and it might be a good idea to have some round-tables for discussions," he commented.

Alexander Pivovarov, Adissy director, thanked sponsors LG, Scala, Microsoft, AOpen, Harris, Intel, QMatic, IAdea, Tricolor and Croc, and partners Dismart, Qarta, iFree and 3M. "Next year we will make it even bigger and better," he stated.

The conclusion came from Vladimir Kozlov, DigiSky director: "Only two years old, but this conference is already proving a success and a must-attend event in Russia. We will continue its development, so next year come and join the leaders."