People counting with Cisco Spaces
Already running Cisco Spaces? Activate the Bumbee Labs partner app, point your Firehose data stream at it, and get privacy-first visitor analytics, with nothing new to install and nothing for your network team to maintain.
No new hardware: Cisco Spaces streams the data, Bumbee Labs does the counting.
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Why Cisco Spaces + Bumbee Labs
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No new hardware
Connects to the Cisco Spaces Firehose using the network you already run. Nothing to mount, nothing to 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 and movement flow into the same Bumbee Labs dashboards and API as every other site you run.
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Sustainable by design
Measuring from a data stream means no extra devices are made or shipped, and none end up as e-waste.
Getting started: from Firehose to footfall
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Activate the partner app
Activate the Bumbee Labs partner app inside Cisco Spaces. It subscribes to your Firehose data stream, a configuration step, not an installation project.
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Anonymise & filter
The incoming stream is filtered for noise, then anonymised and aggregated. Personal data is irrevocably deleted, leaving only statistics.
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Process & calibrate
Our engine turns the stream into visitor counts, dwell times, zone correlations and movement flows, calibrated to your venue.
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Deliver
Clean, anonymous metrics arrive in real time through your dashboards and the API, ready for your BI tools.
What you measure with Cisco Spaces
Wi-Fi is Bumbee Labs' whole-space method, strongest at covering entire venues and the journeys across them. Typical metrics from a Cisco Spaces 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
For exact line-crossing in/out and live occupancy at a specific door, pair Cisco Spaces with cameras or 3D sensors. See the full method-by-method grid.
Turn the Cisco Spaces Firehose into visitor analytics
If Cisco Spaces (formerly Cisco DNA Spaces) is already deployed across your sites, the hard part is done. Bumbee Labs runs as a partner application inside Cisco Spaces, subscribing to the Spaces Firehose data stream and converting it into visitor counts, dwell times, movement patterns and zone correlations, anonymised and aggregated, with 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. No new hardware, no site visit, no change to how your network runs.
Cisco Spaces is already used in smart-building contexts for occupancy monitoring; Bumbee Labs adds the visitor-counting and footfall analytics layer on top, turning the same stream into commercial and operational insight you can act on, backed by real movement data rather than guesswork.
Running Cisco access points without Spaces? See people counting with Cisco Catalyst for the controller-based route, or read how Wi-Fi people counting handles the privacy side.
Cisco Spaces vs other counting methods
Every method has a sweet spot. Wi-Fi covers whole spaces and the journeys across them; pair it with cameras or cellular where you need point precision or wide-area catchment.
| 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 |
| Privacy-first by design | Yes | Yes | Yes |
- Full
- Partial
- Not available
Curious what this looks like for your venue?
Compliant where it counts
Your Cisco Spaces data feeds the only footfall method in Europe approved by a data protection authority, validated by academia, partners and customers. Stream in, anonymous insight out, no personal data kept.
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 to install new hardware?
No. If you already run Cisco Spaces, the measurement infrastructure is on the ceiling. Bumbee Labs connects to the Firehose data stream your network already produces, so there is nothing to mount or cable.
What is the Cisco Spaces Firehose, and do we need it?
The Firehose is the real-time data stream from your Cisco Spaces environment. Bumbee Labs runs as a partner application inside Cisco Spaces that subscribes to the Firehose, so activating the app is what connects Cisco Spaces to Bumbee Labs. No integration project required.
How is this different from people counting with Cisco Catalyst?
Cisco Spaces delivers the data as a cloud stream (the Firehose), so if you already run Spaces the connection is largely a configuration step. The Cisco Catalyst route reads from your controllers and access points directly. Both end up in the same Bumbee Labs platform; the right one depends on how your Cisco estate is set up.
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 it identify individual visitors?
No. The stream is filtered, anonymised and aggregated, and personal data is irrevocably deleted, so only anonymous statistics remain. The method is designed so that no individual can ever be identified.
Is it GDPR-compliant?
Yes. Personal data is deleted at source, leaving only aggregated statistics, and the underlying method was reviewed and approved by a European data protection authority.