Cisco acquires Wi-Fi-based location company

Cisco this week said it acquired ThinkSmart Technologies of Cork, Ireland, a software company that delivers location data analysis based on Wi-Fi networks.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ThinkSmart’s location analytics products collect information on movement within a venue — be it retail locations, hotels and airports — including time of day, traffic patterns and dwell times.

This information helps enterprises and venue operators identify appropriate staffing levels, reduce wait times, optimise business processes and improve customer flows, Cisco says.

Combined with Cisco wired and wireless routers and switches, ThinkSmart’s software will provide location intelligence and analytics to service provider and enterprise customers to know what is happening in their environments and to better engage end users, Cisco says.

“The acquisition of ThinkSmart reinforces Cisco’s commitment to deliver an intelligent network by providing customers with enhanced tools, such as location analytics, that increase the value of the network,” states Hilton Roamnski, Cisco Vice President and head of corporate business development, in a blog.

“This aligns with the core; one of Cisco’s five foundational priorities, by providing differentiated solutions within the infrastructure of the network.”

ThinkSmart will join Cisco’s Wireless Networking Group. The acquisition closed in the first quarter of Cisco’s fiscal year 2013.