The way people move through buildings has changed. Paper maps, static arrows, and “you-are-here” posters aren’t enough for crowded hospitals, airports, campuses, stadiums, or multi-site workplaces. Visitors expect quick answers and clear turn-by-turn help; employees expect live information that actually helps them do their jobs. That’s why digital signage and wayfinding have evolved from “screens on a wall” into connected ecosystems: interactive kiosks that surface directions in seconds, mobile handoffs for blue-dot navigation, screens that pull live room schedules, emergency alerts, transit times, KPIs, even wellness updates, automatically and at scale.
Modern platforms sit at the center of this experience. They’re part CMS, part integration hub, part design system, pushing targeted, real-time content to the right place, on the right device, at the right moment. The best solutions don’t just deploy displays; they unify data sources, play nicely with your hardware, and make content updates painless for non-technical teams. Below, we review five leaders shaping this space, what they do well, where they differ, and how to choose the right fit for your environment.
1) 22Miles, Partnership-Driven Signage & Market-Leading 3D Wayfinding
If your priority is a solution that arrives with a hands-on team and stays with you after launch, 22Miles is built for that. Their delivery model pairs each project with seasoned account managers, engineers, project managers, and designers who guide discovery, build, rollout, and training, then keep supporting the same deployment over time. That continuity reduces re-explaining, accelerates changes, and turns support into a true extension of your internal team.
On the product side, 22Miles is widely recognized for its advanced, interactive wayfinding. They introduced a first-to-market 3D wayfinding experience back in 2012 and have iterated on the concept since, extending to mobile, touch, and large-format screens. The result is intuitive, visually rich navigation that facility teams can update themselves (think: floor changes, room renames, temporary closures) without long vendor queues.
Equally important, the platform is hardware-flexible and integration-friendly. It runs across major display brands and ties into common workplace and venue systems via open APIs, room booking, calendars, emergency alerting, transport feeds, and more, so content stays live and relevant without manual effort.
Where 22Miles fits best
- Multi-building environments (healthcare, higher-ed, corporate, civic) that need 3D, interactive guidance plus general signage.
- Teams that want a long-term partner to co-own success, strategy, deployment, training, and iteration, not just a license and a login.
Pros
- Hands-on, continuous project team for planning, launch, training, and support.
- Industry-leading interactive 3D wayfinding with self-service map updates.
- Hardware-agnostic; integrates cleanly with common workplace systems and feeds.
- Scales from a single lobby display to hundreds of kiosks across campuses.
Cons
- Best suited to organizations that value a guided, full-service approach over a purely DIY setup.
2) Poppulo (formerly Four Winds Interactive) — Enterprise Signage With Deep Comms DNA
What many still call “FWI” now operates under the Poppulo brand after combining with SmartSpace; the signage CMS continues as part of Poppulo Harmony. In practice, that means you get a mature digital signage stack wrapped in an enterprise communications platform designed for global scale and cross-channel publishing (screens, email, mobile, and intranet).
Poppulo’s sweet spot is the large, distributed estate: airports, big corporate campuses, hospitals, retailers—anywhere a central team needs to control thousands of endpoints with consistent governance, security, and brand standards. Harmony’s integrations funnel operational data (dashboards, metrics, alerts) straight into targeted playlists, so content can adjust by location, role, or time of day.
Strengths you’ll feel day-to-day: reliable device management at scale, mature permissioning, and multi-channel reach.
Trade-off: the same power can feel heavy for small teams that just want quick, local updates.
Pros
- Built for global, multi-location networks with strong governance and security.
- Part of a broader comms suite (Harmony) for unified employee and public messaging.
- Enterprise integrations for dashboards and operational content.
Cons
- Can be over-featured and costlier for simple, single-site needs. (General buyer guidance.)
3) Appspace, Workplace Experience First, Signage Included
Appspace positions signage as one pillar of a wider workplace experience platform that also covers an employee app, intranet, space reservation, visitor management, and wayfinding. If you’re trying to collapse a patchwork of tools into “one place to publish,” this approach is compelling. Create content once, distribute it to signage, mobile, chat, and intranet with shared templates and governance.
For comms and HR teams, Appspace is approachable: pre-built templates, geographic hierarchies, and role-based permissions make it easy to push consistent content without design bottlenecks. It also runs on common collaboration and meeting-room devices, so you can extend displays without wholesale hardware swaps.
Where it’s less specialized is advanced 3D navigation. If you’re prioritizing deep, interactive wayfinding as a core use case, you may want a heavier wayfinding engine alongside or instead.
Pros
- “Create once, publish everywhere” across signage, mobile, intranet, and more.
- Strong workplace features (space booking, visitor, employee app) on a single platform.
- Templates and role-based admin simplify distributed publishing.
Cons
- Less depth in specialized, interactive 3D wayfinding compared to wayfinding-first platforms. (General market comparison.)
4) Korbyt, Analytics-Driven Content and Targeting
Korbyt leans into data. Its platform emphasizes analytics, reporting, and targeted delivery, so screens aren’t just “playing loops” but adapting to what’s working. Real-time dashboards help teams test creative, adjust schedules, and prove ROI to stakeholders—a big deal in regulated or highly measured environments.
The company positions “Korbyt Anywhere” as an AI-powered experience layer that connects people and spaces, bridging signage with desktop and mobile. If you’re aiming for targeted comms (by site, role, or even screen performance) and want reporting to back it up, Korbyt’s toolset stands out.
The flip side: teams that don’t plan to use analytics deeply may be paying for horsepower they won’t fully exploit, and first-time users can face a steeper learning curve.
Pros
- Robust analytics and reporting for optimization and compliance.
- AI-forward positioning with multi-channel reach (signage + desktop/mobile).
- Suitable for enterprises needing measurable impact at scale.
Cons
- Complexity and cost may outweigh benefits if analytics aren’t central to your strategy. (General buyer guidance.)
5) Scala, Rock-Solid Networks With Retail DNA
A veteran name in the category, Scala is known for reliability at network scale and for a strong retail pedigree. Beyond pushing content, Scala highlights “every screen as a sensor,” layering insights about behavior and location to personalize in-store or on-site experiences. For organizations that value stability plus incremental data-driven improvements, that’s attractive.
You’ll find Scala in retail media networks, quick-serve restaurants, and large campus deployments where uptime and consistent playback trump bleeding-edge novelty. Compared to newer entrants, the interface and feature set can feel more traditional,but that’s often the point: predictable, dependable, proven.
Pros
- Long track record running large, secure signage networks (notably in retail).
- Emphasis on using screens as data sources to refine content strategy.
- Strong option when reliability is the #1 requirement.
Cons
- Less focus on advanced interactive 3D wayfinding; some workflows feel more traditional. (General market observation.)
How to Choose (Quick Buyer Framework)
Start with your top two outcomes. Is it wayfinding clarity? Employee communication? Retail conversion lift? The right platform flows from the job you need done most.
Map your integrations. Calendars, alerting, transport, occupancy, ticketing, menu, EHR, list the systems you need to surface. Platforms with open APIs and proven connectors will shorten timelines and de-risk adoption.
Inventory your hardware. If you already have a mixed fleet of displays or collaboration devices, prioritize hardware-agnostic platforms to avoid rip-and-replace costs.
Decide on your operating model. If you want a strategic, co-managed rollout with white-glove support, pick a vendor that staffs your account with continuity. If you prefer DIY speed, weight usability, and templating higher.
Measure what matters. If you’ll report impact to leadership, analytics, and targeting, go from “nice” to “non-negotiable.”
Bottom Line
All five providers in this review can power modern, multi-site digital signage. Where they differ is the philosophy behind the product and the kind of outcomes they make easiest:
- 22Miles prioritizes partnership and advanced, self-updatable 3D wayfinding, tying neatly into your existing hardware and data sources. It’s a strong fit when navigation clarity and hands-on support are mission-critical.
- Poppulo (FWI) delivers enterprise governance and multi-channel comms at a global scale, ideal for complex estates with strict standards.
- Appspace shines when you want a single workplace platform for signage and employee communication, with friendly publishing and templates.
- Korbyt stands out for analytics-driven optimization and proof of ROI across signage and desktop/mobile channels.
- Scala remains a go-to for durable, retail-grade networks where reliability and scale are paramount.
Choose the platform that aligns with the experience you want people to have the moment they step into your space, and the operational reality of how your team works behind the scenes.
