People counting with Cisco Spaces
Yes, you can count people with the Cisco Spaces you already run. The Bumbee Labs partner app subscribes to your Firehose data stream and turns it into anonymous visitor counts, dwell times and movement flows. Setup needs configuration and your permission to connect. There is no installation project, and your network team has nothing to maintain.
No new hardware: Bumbee Labs does the counting from the data Cisco Spaces streams.
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Why use Cisco Spaces with Bumbee Labs?
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No new hardware
Connects to the Cisco Spaces Firehose on the network you already run, so there is nothing to mount or cable.
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Privacy-first
The stream is filtered, anonymised and aggregated. Personal data is deleted; no individual is ever identified.
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One platform
Counts, dwell times and movement data go into the same Bumbee Labs dashboards and API as every other site you run.
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Sustainable measurement
Measuring from a data stream means no extra devices are made or shipped, so none end up as e-waste.
How do you get from the Cisco Spaces Firehose to footfall?
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Activate the partner app
Switch on the Bumbee Labs partner app in your Cisco Spaces environment and it subscribes to your Firehose data stream. The only work is configuration; there is no installation project.
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Anonymise & filter
Noise is filtered out of the stream first. The rest is anonymised and aggregated, and any personal data is irrevocably deleted, leaving only statistics.
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Process & calibrate
Our engine turns the Firehose data into counts of visitors, dwell time, zone correlations and movement flows, then calibrates the result to your venue.
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Deliver
The anonymous metrics land in your Bumbee Labs dashboards and in the API, where your BI tools can pick them up. Standard metrics arrive the day after the visit.
What can you measure with Cisco Spaces?
Cisco Spaces is a Wi-Fi platform, and Wi-Fi is Bumbee Labs' whole-space method: it is strongest across entire venues and the journeys through them. Typical metrics from the Firehose stream:
- Visitor count (total) and unique visitors
- Dwell time, per zone and overall
- Visitor paths & flows between zones and between sites
- Zone data & correlation
- Passers-by and capture rate (passing → entering)
- Peaks & lows and long-run trends
Exact line-crossing in and out, and live occupancy at a particular door, need cameras or 3D sensors next to Cisco Spaces. The method-by-method grid linked below covers the rest.
Can the Cisco Spaces Firehose give you visitor analytics?
Yes, if Cisco Spaces (formerly Cisco DNA Spaces) is already deployed across your sites, because the infrastructure for visitor analytics is then in place. Bumbee Labs runs as a partner application inside Cisco Spaces, subscribes to the Spaces Firehose data stream and converts it into anonymised, aggregated visitor counts, dwell times, movement patterns and zone correlations. There is nothing to mount or cable.
What you need to start: an active Cisco Spaces environment with the Firehose data stream, and the rights to activate the Bumbee Labs partner app in it. You need no new hardware and no site visit, and your network runs as before.
Cisco Spaces is already used in smart buildings for occupancy monitoring. Bumbee Labs adds the visitor-counting and footfall analytics layer on top, so the same stream also answers commercial and operational questions with real movement data.
If you run Cisco Catalyst access points without Spaces, people counting with Cisco Catalyst covers the controller-based route. On a Cisco Meraki network, Bumbee Labs reads the data through Meraki’s built-in Scanning API, not through Cisco Spaces, as described under Cisco Meraki people counting. The Wi-Fi people counting page explains how the method handles the privacy side.
Curious what this looks like for your venue?
How does Cisco Spaces compare with other counting methods?
Wi-Fi covers whole spaces and the journeys across them. Where you need point precision or wide-area catchment, pair it with cameras or cellular.
| Capability | Cisco Spaces (Wi-Fi) | Camera & 3D | Cellular |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole-space coverage | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Exact in/out at a door | Partial | Yes | No |
| Real-time occupancy | Partial | Yes | No |
| Paths & flows between zones | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Dwell time | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Catchment / origin | No | No | Yes |
| Uses your existing hardware | Yes | No | Yes |
| Built-in privacy protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
- Full
- Partial
- Not available
Approved and validated
Bumbee Labs turns the Cisco Spaces Firehose stream into visitor counts, dwell times and movement flows. What comes out of the stream is anonymous statistics, and no personal data is kept. The counting method is validated by academia, partners and customers. Bumbee Labs is the company behind the only footfall method in Europe approved by a data protection authority.
We are very happy to announce this partnership with Bumbee Labs to boost our Wireless solutions portfolio and bring what we believe is the future for retail businesses, measured by trustful data. What can't be measured, can't be improved.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need new hardware to count people with Cisco Spaces?
Usually not. Bumbee Labs works from the Firehose data stream that your Cisco Spaces environment already produces, so no new equipment has to be mounted or cabled.
What is the Cisco Spaces Firehose, and do we need it?
The Firehose is the data stream from your Cisco Spaces environment, and you do need it: the Bumbee Labs partner app inside Cisco Spaces subscribes to it. Activating the app connects the two without a separate integration project.
Should we count people through Cisco Spaces or Cisco Catalyst?
It depends on how your Cisco network is run. If you already use Cisco Spaces, the Firehose delivers the data from the cloud and connecting is largely a configuration step. If you run controllers and access points directly, the Catalyst route reads from them instead. Both end up in the same Bumbee Labs dashboards and API.
Is Cisco Spaces the same as Cisco DNA Spaces?
Yes. Cisco Spaces is the current name for the platform formerly called Cisco DNA Spaces. If you still see DNA Spaces in your console, Bumbee Labs connects to it the same way, through the Firehose data stream your environment produces.
Does counting with Cisco Spaces identify individual visitors?
No, visitors stay anonymous. The stream is filtered, anonymised and aggregated, and the personal data in it is irrevocably deleted, so only statistics remain. The method is designed so that no individual can ever be identified.
Is people counting with Cisco Spaces GDPR-compliant?
Yes. The Bumbee Labs partner app subscribes to the Firehose stream from your Cisco Spaces environment, and the personal data in that stream is deleted at source. Only aggregated statistics are left, and a European data protection authority reviewed the method behind them and approved it.