What happens when a former Editor in Chief of InfoWorld and PCWorldcombines the technical know-how of gadgetry with miniature golf in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District?
Well, for Steve Fox, he assembles a dream team to create a miniature golf utopia that reminds you a bit of Maker Faire and Burning Man meet city pub. Dubbed Urban Putt, San Francisco's "only indoor miniature golf course" opened yesterday on Cinco de Mayo.
Right away you’ll not notice how deeply technical the entire operation is, and that’s just fine with Fox. He doesn’t want you to necessarily marvel at all the gadgetry - in his words, "technology for technology's sake." Rather, he wants to use technology for the sake of the experience. All the way down to the Wi-Fi, driven by Aerohive.
“Wi-Fi is often considered a necessary evil that customers expect, but that’s not the way I see it,” explains Fox, Urban Putt's CEO & Chief Greenskeeper. “Enterprise-class Wi-Fi from Aerohivegives me visibility into what my customers are doing, which helps me serve them a better experience.”
Steve and his crew knew they needed an enterprise-class wireless network in order to analyze and use Wi-Fi in a strategic way. Will guests bunch up at hole 9? Where do they like to hang out most often?
So, like any tech geek, Steve wants metrics. And Urban Putt wants to serve its customers most efficiently, which it can do thanks to robust features and retail analytics from Aerohive.
By the way, National Miniature Golf Day is this Saturday, May 10.