Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
NDS (Net Display Systems B.V.) and LCS have joined forces in an attempt to become a leading player in the Smart Digital Building market.
With over 25 years of experience the Dutch company NDS has evolved from one of the pioneers in digital signage software into a global player of data-driven solutions with brand presence in 75+ countries. PADS4 is known as a worldwide leading software offering a global response to dynamic display communication challenges, external or internal communication and data connectivity for signage.
LCS, the French partner of NDS for more than 20 years, has been developing its own software platform for Smart Digital Building management, called Crystal since 2017. This includes workspace, wayfinding, #IOT management and digital signage in full integration with PADS4.
LCS founder Philippe Bonnargent will become CEO and former NDS CEO Willie Jan Bons will remain with the company as CTO.
Willie Jan Bons told us “As NDS we have seen a trend of consolidation in digital signage with acquisitions and mergers under global digital signage software companies during the last few years. To secure our position and accelerate growth we decided last year to start looking for a strong partner. I am glad that with LCS we have found the ideal partner for us. Their expertise and products for workspace management enable us to extend our product portfolio. Moreover, because we already had a long-term business relationship it feels like a natural fit.”
According to Philippe Bonnargent, this new organization is a unique chance for new opportunities by combining the strengths of both companies. “With our joined focus on Smart Digital Building we are going to operate in a market which is much bigger than just digital signage and is expected to show substantial growth in the coming years. By combining our products and services we will be able to reposition PADS4 and Crystal as one unique solution on the Digital Smart Building market: both single platform (SAAS or On Premise) and modular. Through the joint forces of NDS and LCS, PADS4 offers the most complete answer in the field of workspace, wayfinding, IOT, and digital signage. Furthermore, the expertise and international experience of NDS will enable us to act as a global player in this market. And I would like to emphasize that we will keep supporting our worldwide partner network with their current and future PADS4 projects, despite the new focus on Smart Digital Building.”
As part of the merger process, LCS received capital from Turenne Capital as a minority shareholder, and raised EURO 4 million to support its growth and business demand.
October 21st, 2020 at 13:33 @606
A brilliant combination of 2 companies and teams. Always under the radar both NDS and LCS have built an enviable reputation for scalable software, expertise and commonsense. The relationship goes back to 2005 when LCS were the Scala distributor for France. Mike Fabian in his infinite wisdom decided to open a Paris office for Scala in a luxury tower in La Defense. Only thing is that he forget to tell LCS that they were doing this. LCS went to NDS branding as NDS France and leaving Fabulous Fabian with a lot of egg on his face. Wishing both companies and teams even more well deserved success.