Cisco acquires ThinkSmart Technologies
updated 02:44 pm EDT, Wed September 26, 2012
Location data analysis acquisition to provide location intelligence
Networking gear maker Cisco has acquired ThinkSmart Technologies. The company announced the acquisition in a post on Cisco's blog. Financial specifics on the deal are as yet unavailable.
ThinkSmart's location analytics gather information on movement within a venue, comparing activity levels across a day, measuring traffic patterns, and determining how long a user remains in a particular area. This information is given to businesses in order to improve the customer experience. Venue operators can use the information to set staffing levels, reduce wait times, and optimize business processes and customer flows.
ThinkSmart was formed at the Incubation Centre of University College Cork. The acquisition closed in the first quarter of Cisco's 2013 fiscal year. Along with the acquisition of security company Virtuata in July, the ThinkSmart acquisition is aimed at refocusing Cisco toward one of five pillars for future growth. The Virtuata buy shored up Cisco's cloud security portfolio; this newest buy allows the company to expand and differentiate its offerings with regard to networking infrastructure.
