Seems one of the early digital signage software platforms is about to disappear. 3M is shutting down it's digital signage division but I hear only the software group will be affected.
There have been no official announcements from 3M yet but the DailyDOOH posted a recent article about it.
The 3M digital signage platform originated with Fred Systems of Waterloo, Canada way back in '97. The FRED software platform was sold to Mercury Online Solutions in 2003 and 3M acquired the company in 2008.
I remember running into FRED quite often when I started out in the business. They were very successful but things changed after the 3M acquisition. Since then, I haven't heard much about them. In fact, I haven't heard about 3M digital signage in years.
It doesn't look good when your web site is stuck in time (a Flash based web site that features a 3 year old press release). I don't think 3M invested much in the platform so it's not surprising to see it go.
It's sad to see one a digital signage pioneer fade out like this.
Goodbye FRED!
