8 Steps to maximize the value of Cisco Spaces

• Step 1

  Best Practice is to use Spaces Connector

  Reasons to deploy the Spaces connector:

  • Scalability
  • Increased performance
  • Increased reliability
  • Increased access to applications
  • The Spaces connector will yield a strong foundational setup and is the best practice for configuring your Spaces account
• Step 2

  Ensuring all licenses are being utilized

  To get the most value out of Cisco Spaces, you will want to ensure all of your licenses are being utilized. Maximizing the number of Access Points that are feeding data into spaces will increase the accuracy of Spaces’ applications

  To consume your licenses, you must add controllers. For a step by step, refer here

• Step 3

  Ensure Maps are uploaded (If applicable)

  If you currently use DNAC / Catalyst Center or Prime and have created maps in those applications, you will want to import those maps into Cisco Spaces. This will allow for the Spaces location engine to calculate an X,Y of an asset or client, and visualize location on top of your map.

  To Import maps from Prime:https://spaces.cisco.com/setupguide/import-prime-maps/
  To import maps from DNAC/Catalyst Center: https://spaces.cisco.com/setupguide/import-maps/

• Step 4

  Create Roles

  In Spaces, you can create roles to assign to Users in your tenant. This allows users to only have access to specific applications / locations in your Spaces tenant. You also have the ability to configure ‘Read Only’ or ‘Read / Write’ permissions for applications for a specific Role.

  WHY ITS IMPORTANT: Customers see the most value out of Cisco Spaces when multiple business units utilize the platform. There are specific Line of Business (LoB) users who will benefit from access to Spaces but will only need access to 2 or 3 applications & under limited permissions.

  For example:
  Operations & Clinical teams can better track mission-critical equipment/assets in real time using IoT Explorer, Detect & Locate, and asset locator
  Facilities teams can use Cisco Spaces to understand how employees are interacting within the workspace in a hybrid work environment using Right Now, Space Manager, and Space Utilization
  Marketing teams can gain valuable insights from Spaces such as identifying and segmenting their customer base and enabling automatic messaging to customers in their locations using Captive Portal, Location Personas, and Engagements

  To Create Roles:

  • On the left-hand menu of your Spaces Dashboard, select ‘Admin Management’
    
  • At the top of the screen, Select ‘Roles’
  • You can create a new Role by selecting ‘Create Role’ in the top-right corner of the screen
    • a. You can edit an existing Role by hovering over the Role’s Row and selecting the Pencil Icon
      
  • From the ‘Create Role’ page, you will name the Role, Select the Apps that you would like this Role to have access to, and whether you would like this Role to have ‘Read Only’ or ‘Read / Write’ access to the App
    
    • a. At the bottom of the ‘Create Role’ page, you can specify if you would like to restrict the Role to specific locations within your location hierarchy.
      
  • When finished, click ‘Create’
• Step 5

  Add Users

  Adding new users to your Spaces tenant is an easy process. When adding users, you are able to assign them to a Role you have created as well as restrict a new user’s access to specific locations within your location hierarchy. Cisco Spaces is an unlimited user platform and there are no restrictions to the amount of users you can add.

  • On the left-hand menu of your Spaces Dashboard, select ‘Admin Management’
  • You can create a new Role by selecting ‘Invite Admin’ in the top-right corner of the screen
    • a. You can edit an existing User by hovering over the Role’s Row and selecting the Pencil Icon
      
  • From the ‘Invite Admin’ page, you will enter the new User’s email address.
    • a. Here you can select a specific role for them. You can also Restrict this Role to specific locations
  • When finished, click ‘Invite’ at the bottom of the Page.
    • a. The new user will receive an email to join your Spaces Tenet once invited.
      
• Step 6

  Location Hierarchy

  Location Hierarchy feature enables you to organize your network view within Cisco Spaces based on your physical locations and access point deployments. You can organize the hierarchy based on specific brands, regions, campuses and other taxonomies that are relevant for your business.

  By translating your IT network view into a business view, you are automatically presented with a cleaner business relevant insights report. Any changes to your network topology are automatically reflected here thereby making it easy to manage.

  • For an in-depth view into your location hierarchy creation, refer back to: https://spaces.cisco.com/setupguide/configure-location-hierarchy/
• Step 7

  Metadata (time zones, capacity, sqft).

  It is important that you update the metadata for your locations once they are loaded into Spaces. By setting time zones, capacity, and square feet, you can:

  • Accurately see occupancy levels at specific times of day
  • Ensure occupancy does not exceed capacity threshold of a location
  • Accurately measure density of workhours / 1,000sq per location.

• To update this information for your locations, follow these steps:

  • On the left-hand menu from your Spaces dashboard, under ‘Setup’, select ‘Location & Maps’
    
  • Hover over a location row, and click the three dots on the right-side of the row, select ‘Update Metadata’
    
    • a. By updating time zone on the “parent location” the time zone will be inherited for all sublocations in hierarchy
  • Fill out the fields on this page and click ‘Save’ when complete
    • a. ‘Total Area’ should be in Square Feet
      
• Step 8

  Set Vertical on Account

  By setting your Vertical on your Account, you are able to compare your Occupancy to Industry trends.

  Currently you can choose between ‘Retail’, ‘Workspace’, or ‘Education’ as your vertical
  To Set your Vertical on your Account – please open a support ticket:

  • Click on ‘Open New Case’ and under Spaces click ‘Open Case’
    
  • Fill the form and select ‘Technology’ to “Cisco Spaces > Cisco Spaces-Customization (Captive Portal, Data Exports)”
    

Note: Need assistance with setup hygiene? Please reach out to spaces@cisco.com