iPass Inc., a provider of global mobile connectivity, and Armada, a complete supply chain visibility platform, have announced a partnership to utilise the iPass global Wi-Fi network and analytics to provide Armada customers with the location data of goods moving through global supply chains with Armada IoT (Internet of Things) tiles.
An Armada tile is a smart device the size of a 9-volt battery, included with a product shipment, in order to enable tracking through global supply chains. When tiles come in range of iPass hotspots, they collect the hotspot locations and send that information back to the Armada platform for Armada customers to access.
“We are extremely excited about our new partnership with Armada, a company with which we have a natural synergy. In this highly mobile world, both Armada and iPass connect their customers with the information they need to make better decisions, faster and cheaper,” said Gary Griffiths, president and CEO of iPass. “Moreover, this new relationship brings us into the IoT space, showing the new, creative and profitable uses for global Wi-Fi connectivity.”
“Companies today are looking for smarter supply chain analytics to gain better asset intelligence in real time and improve operational efficiency,” said Marc Held, founder of Armada. “Therefore, our partnership with iPass just makes sense. The sheer breadth of their global Wi-Fi footprint, the largest in the world by a significant factor, helps us deliver unprecedented supply-chain visibility to our customers, at a price point that wasn’t feasible with just cellular or GPS.”
The world’s largest Wi-Fi network, iPass connects people and intelligent devices to more than 57 million hotspots around the world. iPass is continually growing its network through both network agreements and its patented iPass SmartConnectTM technology, which discovers and curates open hotspots.
Armada plans to go to market with this iPass-enabled solution during Q4 2016 with a major product manufacturer trial customer.
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