Siemens announced a worldwide reseller and integration agreement with Ekahau, provider of WiFi-based Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) solutions and WiFi planning tools.

Integrating RTLS into the HiPath Wireless portfolio further builds on Siemens Enterprise-wide Foundation for Mobility, the key infrastructure needed to deliver on the promise of Fixed Mobile Convenience. Customers can now plan and deploy integrated location-based mobile business solutions from a single vendor.

Wireless LANs have quickly become a strategic element of an enterprise’s communication infrastructure. Building from their traditional role of on-campus mobile data access, WLANs are now a key component of an enterprise FMC strategy. By utilizing Siemens Enterprise-wide Foundation for Mobility, an organization can now connect their VoIP, VoWLAN and cellular communications infrastructures, while also delivering communication enabled business processes such as location-based services across the combined network.

By adding Ekahau’s RTLS and site survey solutions to its HiPath Wireless portfolio, Siemens enables its customers to benefit not only from user mobility but also from the integration of asset and people tracking in their business processes.

The Ekahau Positioning Engine (EPE) – now being resold by Siemens – utilizes active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to track key assets and people across the WLAN. The EPE can track the real-time location of more than 10,000 objects on a single server.

Siemens has also integrated the Ekahau Site Survey (ESS) tool with HiPath Wireless Manager HiGuard to create the most comprehensive WLAN planning toolset available. Now an enterprise’s site survey planning results are directly imported from the ESS into HiGuard. As a result, network designers can reduce the number of site surveys from three to one, thus dramatically lowering time and cost requirements. Previously, separate site surveys were required for deploying WLAN APs, wireless IPS sensors and RFID tags.

“With this addition to the Siemens HiPath Wireless portfolio, we can offer the many advantages of real time tracking solutions worldwide to a wide spectrum of industries,” said Marcus Birkl, Vice President Sales, HiPath Wireless, Siemens Enterprise Communications. ” Healthcare, logistics and security are likewise promising industries in which we’ve already begun our first joint installations.”