Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the Washington Business Journal. It appears here in an abbreviated format. See the original post here.
A Maryland tech company and a California analytics firm want to help businesses prevent the spread of coronavirus as they consider returning to work — and they think they have the key.
Rockville’s Acquired Data Solutions Inc. is rolling out a contact tracing platform for the private sector to monitor employees’ interactions, and use that data to inform cleaning and other protective measures to curb the transmission of the virus. The technology, from Silicon Valley's Kiana Analytics Inc., has been used to help companies manage their workspaces for years — for instance, to determine how many people use a conference room or need workstations.
With the Coronavirus Rapid Containment and Contact Tracing Solution, as it’s called, the goal is to track movements, identify where and with whom people have come in contact, and use that data to ensure safety. That could mean telling an employee to get a COVID-19 test or directing a cleaning service to focus on a particular area. Contact tracing has been cited as a crucial step in mitigating the pandemic.
Here’s how the software works: It doesn’t require that people download an app or hook into additional software; rather, it recognizes any device connected to an office’s private Wi-Fi network. The tech “leverages existing infrastructure, so all you do is turn a switch on — there’s no installation,” said Steve Seiden, President of ADS. The tool can also notify people who might have been exposed and notify facility management when sick employees reenter the building. People can use it to anonymously report their health status, and employers can use zone maps to see where people congregate, to help enforce social distancing down to six-foot distances.
The software-as-a-service platform follows an annual subscription contract model, with pricing based on number of employees, square footage and usage.
The product would serve “anybody that has a private network that has workers, that has campuses … it’s factories, it can be facilities, and it can be anybody that has buildings,” Seiden said. “This market could be as big as one can imagine,” he added, because “every organization could use this solution.”
