Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Boom gates go hi-tech at South African malls

      17 July 2025

      Megayachts and mansions: the lavish life of 80-year-old Larry Ellison

      17 July 2025

      Mobile money lifts Africa savings to decade high

      17 July 2025

      South Africa loosens media ownership rules – but keeps one hand on the remote

      16 July 2025

      Eskom targets 32GW green energy shift by 2040

      16 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Start-ups » Big Inja: barcoding’s digital data dog

    Big Inja: barcoding’s digital data dog

    By Regardt van der Berg6 October 2014
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Ryan Meiring
    Ryan Meiring

    Barcodes and quick-response (QR) tags have become part of the most common technologies for tracking and cataloguing objects.

    One South African company, Big Inja, believes it has found a gap in the market, making use of barcodes to add a layer of “intelligence” to mundane tasks such as asset tracking, event management and customer relationship management.

    Big Inja — inja is Zulu for dog — was founded in 2004 when Ryan Meiring, 36, saw an opportunity in the events market for a reliable means of retrieving sales leads.

    At the time, Meiring was studying industrial engineering at Wits University. He worked at various trade shows, helping exhibitors get information from visitors interested in their services.

    Meiring realised the potential of barcoding at trade events to track visitors and to make it easier for exhibitors and potential clients to share information. Big Inja helped exhibitors extract value from visitors to their stands. But it was not until 2011, when Meiring partnered with developer Alan Haefele, that Big Inja starting taking off. Today, Meiring and Haefele are co-shareholders.

    The company has since ventured into asset tracking and stock control and, more recently, has even started tracking people by replacing traditional clock-in systems in workplaces.

    Meiring says the company’s motto is “barcode everything”.

    BigInja-280“Our technology allows anyone to take advantage of barcoding technology without the big upfront costs often associated with scanning hardware and backend servers,” he says.

    Big Inja caters for various use cases, including stock control, people monitoring, student tracking, customer relationship management, asset tracking and event management.

    The company remains strong in the events industry, where it manages registration and tracking of delegates.

    In the early days of Big Inja, Meiring used handheld scanners, but these were expensive and made it difficult for anyone to simply pick up the service and deploy it. He decided to build smartphone apps instead.

    The premise on which Big Inja operates, says Meiring, is processing raw information and turning it into valuable data. The system works by pairing the smartphone app with the company’s servers, which crunch the data before displaying it visually based on customer requirements.

    The app, which is available on iOS and Android acts as a scanner — it uses the phone’s camera — that can be used by event co-ordinators or exhibitors.
    “Scanning allows us to receive data, but it’s more about what we do with that data. We focus primarily on the reporting side.”

    He adds that the platform is mature enough now to allow Big Inja to add new services. Meiring says he wants to help businesses automate many of the tasks that are still handled manually, especially things such as stock control and asset management.

    Upcoming services include despatch and delivery for couriers, capturing medical patient data, damage assessments and goods receiving. Meiring says each of these services will be marketed independently to the industries they best serve.

    All Big Inja’s services are offered on a month-by-month basis with no contracts. Pricing starts at US$75/month for one application and one smartphone device.  — © 2014 NewsCentral Media



    Alan Haefele Big Inja Ryan Meiring
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleBackspace: ‘iCritic’
    Next Article Gareth Cliff to headline at Tech4Africa
    Company News

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025

    Mental wellness at scale: how Mac fuels October Health’s mission

    15 July 2025

    Banking on LEO: Q-KON transforms financial services connectivity

    14 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.