120+ displays, 17+ applications, one control panel: the IT behind the Dreamers of Dreams exhibition

A modern large-scale exhibition is really a distributed IT system: thousands of visitors, dozens of displays and interactive applications that must work flawlessly from opening to closing. At the Dreamers of Dreams exhibition in Budapest, this job is done by ZenExhibition, Zenit's own exhibition control platform.

The task

The exhibition's display system consists of 120+ screens and 17+ custom-built applications, from interactive installations to information displays. The challenge wasn't building any single application; it was orchestrating them all: every screen must show the right content at the right time, and if any device fails, staff must know immediately.

The solution: central control

• One control panel. Every display and application is managed from a single interface: content changes, scheduling, remote restarts.
• Real-time status monitoring. The system continuously watches every device and alerts when intervention is needed.
• Integration of custom applications. The 17+ interactive apps run in a unified framework with shared content management.
• Schedule-driven operation. Opening, closing, themed programmes: content automatically follows the exhibition's rhythm.

At an exhibition there is no "we'll fix it tomorrow". If a screen goes dark at ten in the morning, visitors see it. That is why monitoring and rapid intervention matter as much as the development itself.

Why Zenit?

Because our three professions — development, operations, security — sit in one team. We built ZenExhibition, we operate it and we monitor it: no finger-pointing between vendors. Since its handover, the same system has also served the interactive exhibition of Szigetvár Castle, and we delivered similar solutions for the Sárospatak exhibition and for municipal projects in the Tokaj wine region.

Lessons for other projects

1. Central control is not a luxury. With 120+ devices, nothing can be managed by hand.
2. Monitoring is the invisible hero. Visitors never learn how many faults the system prevented.
3. Custom development is only as good as the operations behind it: documented, monitored and supported for the long term.