Beacons will be a huge hit in the enterprise space for both security and productivity, according to Mubaloo’s London managing director Sarah Weller.
Mubaloo is betting on beacons as part of its product portfolio, with six months’ development resulting in rolling out to live business scenarios through its MiBeacons division.
And Weller describes the potential for the enterprise as a “massive opportunity.”
“We’re seeing an awful lot of use cases depending on the sector,” she says. “GPS has not been anywhere near active enough for health and safety situations, for example.
“When you’ve got people working in the field, working on train lines for example, to actually have something that alerts them to when they’re in a safe region or slightly too close to a danger region is really key.
“The conversations we’ve had so far is with different companies who have these situations going on a daily basis, and they’re pretty overwhelmed with what this could do for them in terms of health and safety.”
Weller adds that beacons will also influence security and productivity – two vital components for ensuring a smoother workplace. “Because of the fact everyone’s moving around different sites you know where they are,” she notes, “so knowing all that kind of information, they can utilise this technology to make sure they’re receiving everything they probably need to.”
One company which is evidently using beacons in its strategy is Apple, and although iBeacons weren’t explicitly mentioned in the WWDC keynote earlier this week, the technology was in the background – to pardon the expression – and related to many of the announcements.
As beacons utilise Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), for Weller and Mubaloo it’s a case of informing users how Bluetooth is biting back.
“Bluetooth Energy is very, very different to Bluetooth Classic, which is one of the key things there needs to be a lot of education around,” she explains. “People still think Bluetooth drains battery. It’s not, because it’s a completely different type of Bluetooth.
“We’re not creating that link like you have in the car where it’s constantly connected. We’re talking milliseconds in terms of the data usage that’s going on to connect the Bluetooth and the beacon to your device.
Weller adds that “it’s not to say that’s the only way” beacons can run, with Mubaloo looking at other options including infrared and ultrasound, but stresses the importance of education.
“There’s a lot of challenges, and lots of people don’t have their Bluetooth turned on – but I think that’s more of an education thing rather than anything else,” she says.
Weller is looking forward to the opportunities Enterprise Apps World presents for Mubaloo.
“We’ve always enjoyed coming to Apps World,” she says. “We have a good couple of years there and met some really interesting companies.
“It’s a chance to engage with prospects, share some of our insight, and share what we’re seeing in terms of enterprise mobility, which has moved quite significantly over the last few years,” she adds.
If you have yet to book your ticket for Enterprise Apps World from June 17 to 18 at London’s Olympia National there is still time. You can register for a free pass that gives you access to the exhibition and the Enterprise Apps Development track or buy a full pass which also gives you all areas access including to the show’s Enterprise Apps Strategies track.
