Product as a Service
We are in the process of rolling out a new Proximity Marketing service in some Bay Area locations.
As part of the work, we have had an opportunity to work with a number of new technologies and products, but the most impressive has been Meraki.
Meraki takes the complex problem of WiFi Mesh Networking and reduces it to a simple set of installation instructions and worry free operation.
This problem was something previously managed by telecoms and networking companies. And now. No special equipment. No Phd. Just a simple setup guide.
But the goodness doesnt end at setup. Once your network is up, you have an array of tools at your disposal to monitor everything from network performance to advertising campaigns.
In the event that you have chosen a poor location for one of your nodes, the system is kind enough to recommend which ones should be moved. And range can be easily extended – just plug in new units and they join the existing network. Magic.
The basic tools are free and more advanced tools, cost a little more upfront. But as a result, Meraki has been able to create a a community. Add to that, their efforts to build Metro WiFi by enlisting the help of neighborhoods and you have an interesting approaches to catalyzing network effects for real products.
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