Aruba Launches First-Ever Asset Tracking Solution to Improve Workforce Efficiency and Customer Experience at a Low Cost

The solution uses new Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags, Aruba APs and Meridian software to prevent asset loss, automate inventory management, and develop a technology ecosystem that is compatible with various industries.

June 12, 2017 Beijing - Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, recently released an asset tracking solution (Asset Tracking Solution), as a new product of its location service portfolio, this feature can help enterprises easily track high-value assets, improve enterprise efficiency, and reduce operating costs caused by misplaced assets. Aruba asset tracking solution is integrated into its own wireless platform, which enables simplified and integrated deployment, thereby greatly reducing costs.

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Every year, companies around the world lose millions of dollars when expensive assets are misplaced, lost or stolen, while responsible employees and customers suffer and their work experience suffers. This problem is particularly prevalent in the healthcare industry, where medical devices such as IV pumps and defibrillators are often misplaced. Surveys show that hospital staff waste 25% of their time searching for these assets1, which can even affect the quality of medical care. In the retail and warehousing industries, the inability to find items quickly means wasted time, which can delay customer orders and cause retailers to lose revenue.

Aruba asset tracking is built into its own Wi-Fi structure, which can easily solve the problem of lost assets without setting up a separate network. Enterprises can accurately track important items through the map mode APP or by connecting to existing internal tracking devices. The solution mainly includes the following components:

New in ArubaOS and Aruba Aps: Tracking capabilities enable BLE-powered Aruba access points and sensors to act as an “observer” in asset tag configurations, creating a sensor network that adds value to enterprises already using Aruba wireless networks. Essentially, this capability enables Wi-Fi devices to do double duty as an asset tracking network.

New Aruba tags: Using efficient, low-power Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) allows tags to be one-quarter larger than a tuple, making them ideal for products ranging from IV pumps to warehouse pallets in healthcare facilities. The tags are also designed to meet stringent environmental requirements and come with multiple attachment options.

Asset Tag Configuration App: Aruba’s configuration app simplifies the process of setting up and managing tags. Assets can be easily searched by name, image and self-selected ID. The app operates faster when the asset is nearby, and all data is automatically saved in a central cloud database.

New capabilities for iAruba Meridian AppMaker: With Meridian AppMaker, enterprises can now create their own asset tracking apps for iOS or Android. AppMaker offers a new software development kit (SDK) and application programming interface (API) for seamless third-party integration and customization.

A broad ecosystem of partners across industries

The Meridian Engage partner program is key to the success of Aruba's existing location services and mobile development products. Customers can directly engage app developers to design value-added features for iOS and Android used by Meridian and Aruba mobile development. Aruba is expanding the program beyond Meridian app developers to include Meridian's asset tracking partners such as STANLEY Healthcare, Emerge, Raizlabs, and VenueNext.

“We are excited to further our collaboration with Aruba to deliver location solutions for the healthcare industry,” said Raz Evenor, Director of Product Management at STANLEY Healthcare. “Our MobileView platform combines visualization solutions with analytics for hospitals to enhance safety and security for patients and staff, improve operational efficiency and enhance the patient experience. As technology and network infrastructure continue to evolve, we are always looking for new options for our customers. With Aruba’s BLE-powered asset tracking solution, we are providing our healthcare customers with a new, cost-effective option for managing their medical assets.”

HPE Pointnext

Aruba Meridian Services, a division of HPE Pointnext, a global provider of innovative IT services, is committed to providing global customers and partners with the expertise needed to use location services, allowing any enterprise to engage with users in any public location, while also enhancing the design and mobile development capabilities of customer IT staff and Aruba partner teams on the Meridian platform.

Aruba’s asset tracking solution is one of the edge intelligence innovations announced at HPE’s Discover conference this week, along with the launch of the Aruba 8400 Core Switch Series, which delivers performance, power, automation and troubleshooting to help users meet the challenges of the rapid growth of mobility, cloud computing and the Internet of Things.

Aruba asset tracking solutions are now available and have been recognized by customers and partners:

"The Aruba asset tracking solution will help VMI save a significant amount of man-hours and reduce costs associated with locating and tracking vehicles at 48 production stages," said Michael Kell, Director of Technology at Vantage Mobility International (VMI), a supplier of wheelchair-accessible vehicles. "Additionally, with at least 2,000 vehicles operating on site daily, manually auditing and identifying and locating vehicles, or tracking them at a particular stage of production, is inefficient. We hope to automate this process with the Aruba asset tracking solution, creating new efficiencies for our employees and delivering vehicles to our customers quickly."

As a leading venue technology company, VenueNext helps medical companies improve operational awareness and efficiency through location and mobile experiences. "Our customers have been looking for a good asset tracking solution that can accurately locate key assets in a visual situation and connect with existing application platforms." said Scott Rehling, Vice President of Strategic Channels at VenueNext. "With Aruba's asset tracking solution, we can leverage our customers' Wi-Fi and signal foundation to provide the additional features they need to improve operational efficiency."

Emerge is a digital experience company that solves complex problems for a wide range of clients through world-class design and mobile application development. "By adding asset tracking capabilities to the Aruba mobile development platform, we can provide customers with innovative tools that enable them to use mobile applications to improve facility productivity and customer experience," said Julian Pscheid, CTO of Emerge Interactive. "Whether it is enabling frontline workers to instantly understand the location of equipment, connecting asset locations to Meridian systems in real time through navigation and personalized notifications, or integrating location data with existing systems, we look forward to integrating Aruba asset tracking solutions into our customers' enterprise ecosystems."

Raizlabs designs cutting-edge iOS, Android and web applications for startups and big brands. "Our team is constantly exploring emerging technologies to provide the best solutions for enterprises," said Jason Petralia, president of Raizlabs. "As we explore technology, we have realized that the demand for complete asset tracking solutions is growing, and we are excited about Aruba's technology advancement and investment in comprehensive solutions."

“As a leading IT solutions provider, we are continually looking for ways to expand our product offerings to better meet the evolving needs of our customers,” said Chris Saso, CTO of Dasher Technologies. “Aruba’s new asset tracking solution helps solve long-standing challenges in the healthcare and retail industries by enabling physical assets to be tracked using Wi-Fi infrastructure. It also allows us to reach more customers while expanding our architecture and service expertise.”

Matrix Integration provides technical services to more than 1,000 customers in more than a dozen industries. "Enterprises have always had operational needs to track the movement of important assets. However, most companies believe that setting up a completely independent asset tracking infrastructure is too expensive and will add additional operational burdens," said James Aldridge, vice president of technology at Matrix Integration. "Aruba uses the existing Aruba wireless platform to solve the asset tracking problem without the need to set up a separate network system, forming an easy-to-manage mobile solution with a quick return on investment."