Location Services has been a holy grail in many industries for almost 5 years now and none more so that in the retail industry. In recent discussions with Chief Executive Officers in leading retailers especially those from a marketing or operations persecutive some interesting comments and trends are emerging.

Firstly about a year ago retailers were looking at LBS and saying we must have this, were unsure how to use it to effectively drive their business.

Today in April & May 2013 these executives are equally as excited about the possibilities location services brings to their business, however they are also putting an even greater focus on the ROI. When vying for capex resources a compelling business case is one that has a clear return on the investments needed. When considering a guest WiFi deployment and associated location based services the business cases emerging are varied especially  when speaking with some global retailers. Read More »

Tags: Cisco, Cisco Advanced Location, location based services, location services, mobility, mobility; location; location analytics; mse; mobility services engine; wi-fi; wireless; network; release; cisco, mse, retail analytics, Thinksmart, wi-fi, wifi, wireless

Having been at the Air Passenger Expo with SITA last week and following a series of customer discussions since then and in the weeks prior to the expo the awareness of location capabilities is ramping up very rapidly within the Airport/Airline industry.

• Airports are looking to deliver value added services and customer experiences to their travelers, while getting enhanced insight and information that can deliver both operational and marketing benefits
• Airlines are looking to also provide enhanced experiences to their passengers -- enabling ease of movement, navigation, notification and alerts for gate changes etc..

Read More »

Tags: analytics, Cisco, location based services, mobility, mobility services engine, mobility; location; location analytics; mse; mobility services engine; wi-fi; wireless; network; release; cisco, wireless

Why the Network Will Drive the Next Wave of Mobility

Forty years ago, the first phone call was placed on a handheld mobile phone. The call was placed by Martin Cooper at Motorola’s Communications Systems Division, who phoned a competitor at Bell Labs—and launched a new era. The brick-like prototype he used weighed two pounds and cost nearly $4,000.

Reflecting on the first mobile phone call also gives us a great opportunity to think about where mobile communication will take us in the years to come. In a few short decades, cell phones have evolved from a clunky appliance used mainly by high-powered businesspeople, into a key part of everyday life. Read More »

Tags: data in motion, Internet of Everything, IoE, location based services, mobility, wireless

The great (relatively) untapped kingdom of ‘indoor wireless’ may be the next great frontier?

With expectations of WiFi connectivity for just about any business we visit these days, there is no reason this next step for making the physical world more accessible should not be adopted.  Indoor location services offer the chance for us to use our ever-present smart devices to navigate large facilities easier than ever before.  This also represents great opportunity for retail to touch (and measure) customers better than ever before as the struggle between bricks and mortar vs. online shopping continues.

Fierce Broadband Wireless covered the recent Qualcomm and Cisco announcement around Hotspot 2.0 and Passpoint and you can see how this continues to heat up.  It is valuable for so many reasons.

Read More »

Tags: location, location based services, mobility, mobility services engine, mse, TechWiseTV, Thinksmart, wireless

We’ve been hearing a lot about the transition to the Internet of Everything, and the billions of new devices that will be coming online in the next few years. But the Internet of Everything is not only about connected things, it’s about the amazing things that will happen when you connect people, process, and data with those things. And in today’s fast-moving world, these new connections must be mobile, adapting to let you work or communicate the way you choose—anywhere, without compromise.

When you support mobility with an intelligent network, the result is much more than the sum of its parts. As people, processes, data and things all join together on the Internet, the intelligent network listens, learns, and can take action to make connections more relevant and valuable.

We’re witnessing an increasingly mobile Internet of Everything taking shape around us today. For example, the Palomar Health Medical Center in San Diego is connecting its healthcare environment over a wireless network to provide a better experience for patients. So doctors can securely pull up a patient’s health record on a smart phone or tablet anywhere at the medical center. Or receive a wireless alert the moment a lab test is ready. Next generation programs include mobile robots that let patients roam around the hospital and videoconference with families and caregivers.

The possibilities are endless. How could infinite connections and an intelligent, mobile network help you save your employees time? Make their jobs easier? Or improve the way your kids learn? Learn more at The Platform blog.

Tags: Borderless Networks, byod, Cisco, Internet of Everything, IoE, IT, location based services, mobility, network, wired, wireless