Mist Delivers First Enterprise-Grade BLE Platform for Scalable, Standards-Based Asset Visibility

CUPERTINO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 4, 2017) - Mist, a pioneer in smart wireless networking for the smart device era, announced today a new Asset Visibility Service available via the Mist wireless platform. This new service, which is an extension of the company's groundbreaking virtual Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) offering, enables companies in almost every vertical to efficiently and cost effectively locate mobile devices and assets using standard BLE technology. In addition, Mist expanded the recently announced BLE Alliance program to include new strategic partners that share a common goal of using BLE asset visibility to save time and money while improving operational efficiencies.

"Many usage scenarios exist for indoor location services. They differ in the types of people or assets being tracked whose location is needed to improve not only a business process, but also the granularity that is required to make better business decisions, such as optimized maintenance and staffing," according to Tim Zimmerman and Annette Zimmerman of Gartner.⁽¹⁾

"Mist is the first vendor to offer an open, scalable wireless networking platform that brings connectivity, indoor location services, asset tracking and Internet of Things (IoT) together in a seamless and cost-effective manner," said Sudheer Matta, vice president of products at Mist. "The Mist platform leverages machine learning and modern cloud technologies to simplify wireless operations and deliver amazing new location based services."

Expanding Mist's Groundbreaking BLE offering
Mist was the first company to introduce an enterprise-grade platform for indoor BLE location services with groundbreaking features including a dynamic BLE 16 antenna array integrated into Mist's Wi-Fi Access Points, machine learning in the Mist cloud eliminating the need for expensive site surveys, and patented virtual beacon (vBLE) technology. The Mist architecture is also unique in its ability to both transmit and receive BLE signals, which makes it ideal for "contextual engagement" services, such as wayfinding and proximity messaging, as well as "operational efficiency" applications, like the new asset visibility service now offered. Example use cases for Mist's Asset Visibility service include:

• Healthcare: Easily locate assets, patients and caregivers and get real-time visibility into workflows and resource utilization.
• Retail/Warehousing: Find associates, forklifts, ladders, pallets, and other strategic assets.
• Hospitality: Optimize staffing resources based on traffic patterns; connect guests to nearby associates for rapid service; find mobile resources like luggage carts.
• Transport & Logistics: Track assets and optimize paths in loading docks and warehouses.
• Enterprise: Locate employees in an emergency; check-in visitors automatically; easily find available conference rooms; measure traffic patterns for accurate resource planning.

Expanding the Mist BLE alliance
The Mist BLE Alliance, announced in December 2016, is driving the adoption of high accuracy indoor location services through BLE thought leadership and product interoperability. The initial goal of the program was to facilitate the adoption of contextual engagement services such as wayfinding, proximity messaging, and resource scheduling applications. Now Mist has expanded the alliance to also include asset visibility, with the inclusion of the following industry leaders:

• AiRISTA is a leader in providing BLE based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), process improvement, and workflow automation solutions. AiRISTA's technology-agnostic Unified Visibility Solution (UVS) is an enterprise grade IoT platform which is offered for both on premise and in-cloud deployments, seamlessly integrating BLE based AiRISTA tags and sensory devices.
• Bluvision is leading the innovation in the IoT space as market leaders in sensor beacons; software driven, highly-accurate RTLS; and the pioneers of achieving cloud connectivity without the need for smartphone applications. Bluvision's advanced architecture provides enterprises scalable solutions for tracking the location, health and performance of assets and employees.
• Cetani utilizes its Activate software platform for various uses including visibility, asset management and advanced workflow monitoring and management. With over 15 years of indoor locating experience and industry leading software, Cetani has a depth of location solutions and a history of innovative products not found in other solutions.
• Kontakt.io is the leading provider of Bluetooth Low Energy beacons and tags globally. Kontakt.io uses BLE beacon technology to bridge the gap between real and digital. They are empowering business in every vertical by connecting proximity-aware devices to the cloud. Future IoT solutions will require seamless connectivity, and Kontakt.io is helping build a powerful foundation through proper IoT asset tagging and tracking.

Pricing and availability
Mist's new Asset Visibility Service is Generally Available (GA) today via authorized Mist partners. Like Mist's Business Critical Wi-Fi Assurance service and BLE Contextual Engagement service, Mist's Asset Visibility Service is purchased per Mist Access Point on an annual basis. Pricing is available upon request. Please email info@mist.com for more details or to find a partner near you.

Helpful links:

• Mist website: www.mist.com
• Mist partners: www.mist.com/partners
• Mist platform: www.mist.com/platform
• Mist services: www.mist.com/services
• Mist BLE overview: www.mist.com/ble-overview

About Mist
Mist built the first wireless platform for the Smart Device era. By taking a user-first approach to networking, the Mist Intelligent Wireless Cloud (IWC) eliminates the operational burdens of legacy wireless architectures by replacing time consuming manual tasks with machine learning and proactive automation. In addition, Mist is the first vendor to bring Enterprise grade Wi-Fi and BLE together to deliver personalized, location-based services for wireless users. 

The Mist team consists of leading experts in wireless, machine learning, and cloud, who are responsible for building the largest and most advanced networks in the world. Founded in 2014, the company is based in Cupertino, CA and funded by top investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Cisco Investments. For more information, visit www.mist.com.  

⁽¹⁾ Gartner, Market Guide for Indoor Location Services, May 9, 2016