back to article Cisco snags potential customer-sniffing biz for an undisclosed sum

Cisco is to slurp up cloudy indoor location services biz July Systems to add to its Wi-Fi platform and boost customer experience capabilities. July Systems, founded in 2001, offers services to track people's locations within buildings through Wi-Fi. The idea is to allow companies to identify customers when they enter a space …

  1. KjetilS

    So is this technology GDPR compliant, or did Cisco buy itself a big bag of trouble?

  2. Steve K
    Alert

    ...associate these learnings...

    What's wrong with "lessons"? No need for a made-up noun plural.....

  3. Mage Silver badge

    Disgusting use of Tech

    That and BT spam in shopping centres ought to be illegal.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Disgusting2: Have humans ever lived in a time where industry was this disconnected from users?

      "Today's early adopter, hyper-connected global traveller wants a level of personalisation unlike ever before, and that means being able to control their hotel experience with the sound of their voice"

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44534597

      ---------

      Where are we staying again:

      ......CIA / NSA / 3-letter-spying-agency Hotels-Inc....?

      1. Paul Hargreaves

        Re: Disgusting2: Have humans ever lived in a time where industry was this disconnected from users?

        "control their hotel experience with the sound of their voice"

        Me: "Hey Room, Please stop the slamming doors in the corridor and the noisy traffic through the window, and the screaming drunks at 3am."

        Room: ""

        Me: "<sob>"

  4. Martin Summers Silver badge

    No-one's bloody sniffing me, I don't care how much they paid!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A better customer experience

    So they hope to persuade the high street stores that the best way to win back customers from online shopping is by copying the online merchants' invasive tracking techniques and by sending more targeted communications? No thanks.

  6. Camilla Smythe

    Next up...

    You will not be permitted entrance to the premises unless you are carrying a Wi-Fi enabled device.

    "Purpose of your visit Sir?"

    "I want to buy some socks."

    "Hmmm. Sorry Sir. Scanner says you are not Wi-Fi enabled."

    "Pardon?"

    "How are we going to advertise socks at you after your purchase?"

    "But... once I've bought them I do not need more."

    "Not up to speed with the modern world are we Sir.?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Next up...

      Right. As I do not carry any sort of tracking/bugging device, I suppose I'm never to have customer service again. Yay! I'll avoid doing a five-finger discount, since they'll be tracking the items through their RFID tags.

  7. Mayday
    Flame

    Which is why

    You should never use public wifi services.

    You are tracked wherever you go (ie what shop you're in) and "services" are targeted for you based on what you've bought and where you've been.

    Advertising and targeted offers on digital signage is even changed based on who is walking past the sign at the time.

    There really isn't any need as a consumer anyway*. I mean how much data is on your phone plan? Is it really that little that you need to rely on such a "service" in a shopping mall, cafe or airport?

    *Travelling to a foreign country perhaps.

  8. ma1010
    Mushroom

    Damn tracking and trackers!

    I'm getting to the point where I keep my phone in airplane mode more and more. Makes it difficult to contact me, but you can't have everything. We've pretty much lost the use of phones, cells or landlines, for their intended purpose unless you submit to endless spamming and/or tracking. I don't.

    It would be nice if they would outlaw tracking people via phone unless they're using 911 for an emergency call or there's a law enforcement reason (with a WARRANT granted upon a show of probable cause to a court) for it. But for those like me, living in the USA, there's no hope of anything being done by our useless lawmakers because that would benefit the people at the expense of the big corporations, so it's a non-starter here. Maybe some states might do something, perhaps.

    It won't be the marketing department of Sirius Cybernetics first up against the wall when the revolution comes. It will be these bastard trackers and their "targeted ad" people. The sooner, the better, I say.

  9. Bavaria Blu
    FAIL

    Seems a bit old-school. Apart from waiting 3 hours in an airport, I can't imagine needing wifi whilst out shopping, unless there was a poor 4 g signal, which might be the case out in the sticks. Most shopping centres are not out in the sticks so customers will just us their mobile data, especially if signing up for free wifi means spam messages.

    Perhaps useful in emerging markets, but otherwise a fail. Unless you can track phones as they sniff out available wifi networks even though they're not connected. Tracking a customer's path through a store must have some value. I assume that is why John Lewis offer it in their stores.

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