WIFI Active RFID: PanGo Enhances Its PanOS Location Management Platform And PanGo Locator Asset Tracking Application

Release Sets New Standard for Real-Time Location-Tracking With Improved Location Management Capabilities, Ease of Use, and Scalability

PanGo Networks, Inc. (www.pangonetworks.com) today introduced the industry's most comprehensive solution for tracking critical mobile assets: The PanOS Platform® 4.0 and the PanGo Locator® 4.0. PanGo's open and standards-based location management platform, combined with its production-proven Web-based asset tracking application, gives companies unprecedented asset visibility – improving asset utilization, operational efficiencies, regulatory compliance and ROI.

As real-time asset tracking becomes the must-have capability in industries like healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, the PanGo solution gives organizations new levels of accuracy, flexibility and scalability to locate and track assets, personnel and inventory, while capitalizing on the pervasive adoption of wireless local area networks (WLAN) and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

Available now and designed based on extensive input from customers and partners, key enhancements to version 4.0 include advanced location management capabilities, expanded event-based notifications, a redesigned user interface across all PanGo Locator applications and streamlined integration with third-party solutions. Building on the industry's most intuitive Web-based Real-Time Locating System (RTLS), the enhanced PanGo solution provides unmatched asset monitoring, reporting, notification and management capabilities and Wi-Fi tags – all in a single solution.

"The emergence of sensory technologies such as RFID is spurring many companies to begin looking at asset management in new ways. Sensors, combined with the emerging locationing capabilities of today's networks, open up entirely new classes of assets to management where it was not feasible or practical to manage these assets before. As a result, companies are going to need new software applications and tools to help them manage their assets in the most efficient way," said Jeff Woods, research vice president at Gartner.

Key enhancements to the PanOS Platform and PanGo Locator include:

• Unmatched ease of use and flexibility for tracking assets
  • Advanced map displays, table and detail views, icons, text search and map viewing deliver a new benchmark for ease of use.
  • Notification enhancements allow users to automatically set alerts based on the location, day and time based parameters and status of key resources and equipment. Full integration with the Emergin Communication Gateway further expands the set of communication channel options.
• Expanded management and configuration options
  
  • PanGo's new user management application provides user-based security and authentication, enabling single sign-on for all PanGo Web applications, role-based application access and user/group privileges.
  • A new location management application streamlines the importation of maps, assimilates information from multiple location providers, defines logical location hierarchies and links to a new space drawing tool for defining and managing spaces.
• Location synthesis and precedence
  • Advanced location services refine and synthesize location data from multiple sources, enabling customers to leverage multiple location technologies - dramatically increasing the number of assets that can be tracked and eliminating the need for proprietary solutions that add complexity and cost to corporate networks.
  • Location precedence allows users to apply the best location technology to individual use cases or asset types based on workflow and the desired level of location accuracy.
• Improved location accuracy and enhanced industry standard Web services
  • A new Geodetic Coordinate-based information model increases location accuracy and future-proofs the addition of other locationing technologies.
  • Enhanced state change event information such as activity, motion, battery status and availability support context-sensitive alert and notification requirements.
  • New value-add location services and utilities include a Device Metadata publisher – which pushes device information to Web service endpoints, a Notification Publisher – which pushes criteria-based notifications to Web service endpoints, and a Mapper with tiling support for serving up map images to third- party applications.
• Simplified implementation and scalability
  • Market-leading scalability helps customers maximize the value of asset tracking throughout an entire organization or campus environment. The PanGo solution scales independently in each layer and is optimized for thousands of assets.

Ensuring Safety for Manufacturing Personnel
PanGo's location management technology delivers value to several markets in which accurate location data is a critical factor of operational efficiency and safety. Toho Tenax, a leading manufacturer of carbon fiber used in industrial materials across the automotive, aerospace and medical industries, has selected PanGo's location management platform, asset tracking applications and active RFID tags to locate personnel within their Rockwood, Tennessee manufacturing facility. As a component of their environment, safety and health initiatives, Toho Tenax is leveraging location data to accurately monitor and manage the amount of time personnel are exposed to potentially harmful manufacturing processes and environments.

"PanGo's expertise in locationing technologies and the advanced monitoring and notification capabilities of the PanGo solution will allow us to further improve our personnel safety practices and are expected to contribute to additional cost benefits due to a more efficient asset and staff workflow," said Marc Verbruggen, president, Toho Tenax America. "The safety of our employees is our number one priority. Leveraging location data to enhance our safety measures assists us to produce products with the highest level of quality and at the lowest possible cost, helping us to maintain a leadership position in the market."

Standards-Based Approach for Fast ROI
Based on an open, service-oriented architecture, PanGo's solution leverages existing IT infrastructure and network investments – like Wi-Fi and passive RFID – while seamlessly integrating location information into various end-user applications. This standards-based approach allows customers to maximize the usefulness of location information and avoid the high cost of proprietary asset-tracking solutions. Support for presence detection, real-time location and high-resolution choke-point visibility creates the market's most robust solution for accurately locating and managing mobile assets and personnel – while enabling new flexibility to apply the appropriate RFID tracking technology to best match the need.

"Our product innovation is driven by a single vision: Helping our customers achieve the incredible efficiencies and cost savings that stand to be gained from real-time asset-tracking," said Mike McGuinness, CEO of PanGo Networks. "This new version of the PanGo solution makes it easier for customers to integrate important location data from various sources, and deliver the exact information that users need, when and how they need it."

About PanGo Networks
PanGo is the leading provider of a location-aware platform and applications designed for enterprise scale deployment. Its integrated location management solution allows organizations to transform standards-based wireless networks and active and passive RFID infrastructures into a platform for intelligent applications that improve important business processes. With its flagship PanOS Platform® and asset tracking applications, PanGo offers the industry's first complete solution for real-time asset visibility and context-aware information delivery. Specializing in a range of markets including healthcare, manufacturing, retail and government, PanGo delivers reliable and accurate information about the location of connected devices, people and assets. For more information, visit www.pangonetworks.com.