by admin June 23, 2015 , In Mobile

What are iBeacons? How do Beacons Work for Businesses?

What if you enter in a supermarket and your smartphone shows you discount schemes, various offers, etc. as you pass through various items. Imagine another scenario in which you enter in a big hospital or a stadium, and you don’t know the direction of any section or area. Just use your smartphone, and you get the direction of any section or department in no time! Nowadays, this is possible because of revolutionary iBeacon. As it works on Bluetooth technology, it is also known as BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Beacon.

what is ibeacons

what is ibeacons

How do iBeacons work?

It acts as an indoor or outdoor positioning system. It contains transmitters to notify relevant information to iBeacon-enabled smart devices. It is a kind of location device and uses proximity technology, but its main advantage over GPS technology is: It can work well in the absence of Wi-Fi and Internet network. Android devices with Bluetooth 4.0 and above also can readily show Beacons’ notifications. In other words, iBeacon-ready devices show notifications to the users about any product from some distance even if there is no any network inside the premises.

How do Beacons Make Businesses Profitable?

Today, iBeacon’s use is not restricted to retail business. Privacy protection and the ability to give individual experience to customers are two major benefits that make it a choice for different businesses. Following list shows how it is useful for various industry verticals.

Beacons in Supermarkets and Retail: We can certainly start with the retail industry. As Shopping freaks frequently visit supermarkets to know about the latest discount offers, freebies, etc. iBeacon technology becomes handy for the retailers. Instead of putting tags near any product, they can simply put data in an iBeacon server or an app and customers will get the notification as they come near to specific products. Also, retailers can use it for facilitating mobile payments as it is compatible with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology.

Beacons in Hospital: These days, multi-specialty hospitals can cause trouble for people in terms of finding the direction of various departments. There, this amazing technology comes at a rescue. Visitors can readily find out the direction of particular wards through it. Even patients can also use it to find the direction of various departments.

Beacons in Enterprises: From SMBs to big daddies, Beacons can serve every enterprise. They can change the work culture of the enterprise as they are useful for authorization of entry into an office, customization of light and climate settings in the conference room, and the like. If iBeacon is combined with Wi-Fi, it can bring a radical change in work environment. It can effectively push BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) concept as well.

Others: Industries like hospitality, transport, education, banking, etc. can also use it as an effective transmission tool. Recently, iBeacon technology has become part of a new SPT (Smart Public Transport) project in Bucharest. Big stadiums, museums, art galleries, etc. public places can also take benefits of this amazing technology.

As conclusive remarks, it is fair to mention that iBeacon technology is one of the most useful technological advancements. It can be seamlessly used without concerning about size, space, and type of any industry. You may go for customized iBeacons app development and bring various offers and information in notice of your targeted customers in ‘real time’.