Purple (technology company) explained

Purple
Industry:Business analysis, Software
Foundation:2012
Location:Manchester, UK
Area Served:Worldwide
Services:Business analytics
Founder:Gavin Wheeldon
Key People:Gavin Wheeldon(CEO)

Purple is a UK-based technology firm that specializes in intelligent spaces.[1] [2] [3] The company offers a three core products guest WiFi, business analytics and digital wayfinding.

Purple introduced social media logins in the WiFi login process, where a customer has to like or follow or promote the social media page of the retail business to get the access of WiFi and in the process precious customer data also gets captured on its web portal. The captured data by Purple's integrated WiFi and location analysis solution can be used by the retail businesses for customer relationship management.[4]

History

Purple was founded in 2012 by Gavin Wheeldon.[5] [6] The company was incorporated in 2012 as 'Purple WiFi' to provide custom WiFi solutions for the retail businesses.[7]

Purple remained bootstrapped until 2015, before receiving its first round venture funding of $5 million from Sir Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco,[8] Bob Willett, Iain MacDonald and Bill Currie from the William Currie Group and Juno Capital, a leading alternative asset manager.[9] The initial funding helped the company in building the technology and establishing roots in the international market. Purple was used by enterprises in events, leisure, hospitality, tourism, education, and retail industries.[10] [11] Purple signed a distributor agreement with Purdicom, Ingram Micro, e92plus, Minerva, Wood Communications, Alternetivo, Chuanhow Technology Ltd, SonicNet, Wavelink, Smart Network Distribution, Baltic Premier Partners, WAV Inc, MICRO-LINK, C-MI Labs, Instillery Group and others.[12] [13] The software started out as an analytics ad measurement tool, and expanded to a whole suite.[14]

The company expanded globally by partnering with major companies as its resellers in Australia,[15] US,[16] New Zealand, India,[17] UK and other countries.[18] In January 2016, the company rebranded its name to Purple.[19]

Purple expanded its product portfolio in 2019 by acquiring LogicJunction[20] specialists in indoor wayfinding. During the COVID-19 pandemic Purple also introduced a solution that uses 2D & 3D sensors to provide businesses with presence and location insights around building occupancy and how people move around venues.

Awards and recognition

Competition

The top competitors in Purple 's competitive set are Aislelabs, Queentessence, Cloud4Wi, RaGaPa, KodaCloud, Turnstyle Solutions, Eleven Wireless, Zenreach, Skyfii, GlobalReach, i2e1, Benu Networks, Presence Orb, UCOPIA and Zoottle. [27] Recently with the interest from Google and Facebook increasing in the Wi-Fi space, investor interest has increased. [28]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: What defines a modern, secure, social WiFi network? . . 6 March 2014 . 19 April 2016.
  2. Web site: Why it works: Purple WiFi on how to use WiFi effectively to build profit in-store . Retail Times . 17 January 2014 . 19 April 2016 . Fiona Briggs.
  3. Web site: Social Wi-Fi' launched in Schuh stores . Essential Retail . 23 February 2015 . 19 April 2016 . Ben Sillitoe.
  4. Web site: Inside the shopping centre that tracks your every move . Channel4 News . 25 March 2014 . 19 April 2016 . Geoff White.
  5. Web site: Purple WiFi allows companies to grow through social media endorsements . ManchesterEvening News . 7 November 2012 . 19 April 2016 .
  6. Web site: Big-name investors put £3.3m into firm . . 7 November 2012 . 19 April 2016 .
  7. Web site: Sir Terry Leahy: Wifi provides retailers with crucial geolocation data . Tech World . 2 Mar 2015 . 19 April 2016 . Anh Nguyen.
  8. Web site: Ex-Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy and others fuel Purple WiFi's global expansion with £3.3m . . 15 January 2015 . 17 April 2016 . Sam Shead.
  9. Web site: UK's Purple WiFi Raises $5M To Push Its Free Social WiFi Service Abroad . . 14 January 2015 . 19 April 2016 . Ingrid Lunden.
  10. Web site: UK hotspot startup Purple WiFi raises $5M . . 14 January 2015 . 19 April 2016 . Kevin Fitchard.
  11. Web site: Purple WiFi raises $5m investment for rapid international expansion . Retail Times . 15 January 2015 . 19 April 2016 . Fiona Briggs.
  12. Web site: Smarter WiFi for Kiwi businesses . NZ Business . 2 October 2015 . 19 April 2016.
  13. Web site: Purple WiFi lands in A/NZ . arnnet.com . 14 April 2015 . 19 April 2016 . Purple WiFi lands in A/NZ.
  14. Web site: Why we need to address the UK's digital skills shortage right now . PCR . 21 March 2016 . 19 April 2016.
  15. Web site: Purple WiFi launches in Australia . Hospitality Magazine . 5 May 2014 . 19 April 2016 . Jasmine O'Donoghue.
  16. Web site: Purple WiFi Expands to the US . MrWeb Ltd . 20 March 2014 . 19 April 2016.
  17. Web site: Purple WiFi teams up with Trend Vision in India . Telecompaper . 17 September 2015 . 19 April 2016.
  18. Web site: Purple WiFi looks to US and Asia for global expansion . Manchester Evening News . 19 August 2014 . 19 April 2016 . Shelina Begum.
  19. Web site: Purple WiFi Rebrands as Purple . Comms Business . 19 January 2016 . 25 November 2016 . unknown.
  20. Web site: Finch. Isabel. 2019-10-25. Purple acquires US wayfinding business LogicJunction. 2021-06-24. Business Live. en.
  21. Web site: Synaxon UK 2014 Awards winners revealed . PCR . 19 June 2014 . 19 April 2016 . Dominic Sacco.
  22. Web site: ANNUAL RISING STARS . Northern Tech Awards . 19 April 2016.
  23. Web site: 2015 Finalists . Digital Entrepreneur Awards . 19 April 2016.
  24. Web site: 2015 Emerging Vendors . The channel Co . 19 April 2016.
  25. Web site: NORTHERN TECH AWARDS WINNERS REVEALED . Insider Media Limited . 27 March 2015 . 19 April 2016.
  26. Web site: Hall of fame 2015 . retail-systems.com . 19 April 2016.
  27. Web site: Purple WiFi Competitors, Revenue and Employees - Owler Company Profile. Owler. en. 2018-09-13.
  28. News: Facebook begins selling its low-cost WiFi program in India. Engadget. 2018-09-13. en-US.

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