Glossary A–ZLetter C
CMS (content management system)
The CMS is the management software in which the content, playlists, schedules and devices of a screen network are maintained.
The abbreviation stands for content management system. The screens fetch from it what they are meant to show.
In daily use, the editorial team usually works in the CMS through a browser: they upload images and videos, put together playlists, decide when things run and assign all of this to individual screens or device groups. A CMS usually also manages users and permissions, shows the status of devices and reports failures. It can run in the provider's cloud or on the operator's own server.
Before choosing, operators should clarify which players the CMS supports, whether content and data can be taken along when switching provider and where the data is stored. The term is also used for website software, but such a system does not control screens. It also matters who looks after the CMS day to day, because content goes stale quickly when nobody is responsible.