Navenio: TheForbiz.com & INNOVATORS VS COVID-19 Editorial Series
Tell us about you, your career, how you founded or joined this company
I have always been interested in science, and studied Maths at Cambridge University. It was here that the application of innovative technology and its ability to deliver real-world benefits first caught my eye. There came a point in my career where I was looking to get involved in a new business, and it was at this point that I was introduced to Profession Niki Trigoni, whose academic research on sensor networks and indoor location really appealed to me.
Niki is now the CTO at Navenio, and when I met her, she and her team at Oxford University had been developing science-based, ground-breaking technology which had the potential to transform the world we live in. At the time, there was a significant gap in the market in terms of infrastructure-free indoor location technology, so it was then that we decided to start up Navenio.
How does your company innovate?
Navenio is enabling new capabilities for the indoor world, in a similar way to how GPS continues to open up opportunities in the outdoor world. We provide infrastructure-free indoor location technology which works where GPS does not, which is highly scalable, and simply needs a smartphone to function. There is no need for investment in expensive infrastructure that is used in other types of solutions such as beacons.
With the world still battling the global pandemic, we are focusing on assisting healthcare teams to become more efficient, which ultimately improves patient care. Hospitals are able to use our AI-led ‘Intelligent Workforce Solution’. This enables management to assign tasks to individuals or teams purely based on their location. The aim is to prioritize real-time workload on the basis of ‘right person, right time, right place’. Along with helping teams be more efficient with their time, the data can highlight the true movements of staff around hospitals.
How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business and how are you coping?
As it has been for all, COVID-19 has been a challenge that we were not expecting. Fortunately our team is very flexible, and has managed to adapt to working from home.
Given the nature of the crisis, we have also been very busy discussing our solution with healthcare teams and providers that are looking to improve how they manage their resources. Ensuring that any onboarding during Covid-19 was seamless, as quick as possible, and worked within the strict H&S guidelines was another priority that our team had to adapt to.
How do you deal with stress and anxiety, how do you project yourself and your company in the future?
I am very lucky to be surrounded by supportive and positive people that understand the importance of the work we are doing, and have adapted well to working remotely. At Navenio we encourage all of our employees to maintain a healthy work/life balance, meaning that there are opportunities to take a break when signs of burnout or stress start to become overwhelming.
We have all experienced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in some form. Being separated from loved ones and friends is starting to take its toll on many and means that taking care of our mental health is also a priority. We are transforming the efficiencies of the healthcare industry mid-pandemic, but that doesn’t mean we forgo our own health and wellbeing.
Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?
Our main competitors are infrastructure-heavy indoor location providers, relying on WiFi, Bluetooth, beacons and RFID.
The customers that we work with, for example hospitals, have some of the most complex building structures for example a 5000+ room hospital with multiple corridors, floors and entry/exit points. Navenio’s technology can be used effortlessly in any type of building and applied to any sector globally and unlike other indoor location solutions, we do not require hardware such as beacons to be installed or maintained onsite.
For this reason Navenio’s indoor location solutions are more reliable, cost effective and efficient. We also have a number of commercial models from SaaS solutions to OEM licensing opportunities that serve a multitude of use cases.
Your final thoughts and advice to other innovators
Don’t give up. If you believe in your innovations and that they can work economically and make a difference, be persistent, passionate, open to feedback and do everything you can to make them become a reality. Don’t work alone but with a team of people you can trust who can bring their knowledge and experience to your innovation to help make a true difference in the world.
Your Website?
Website: www.navenio.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/navenio-ltd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/navenioltd