The Impact of Wearable Technology & IoT on Businesses
Several enterprises are riding the wearable-tech wave to improve their product and service offerings for customers. Internet of Things (IoT) and wearable technology (or wearable devices) such as smartwatches, fitness bands, and virtual reality (VR) headsets has created a lot of hype, with millions of devices sold already.
The proliferation of the wearable devices is set to grow in 2018. Analyst CCS Insight predicts that 185 million wearable devices will be sold (worth of $16.9 billion) by 2021. When users think of wearable devices, they tend to associate them with the consumer space. For example, the Apple Watch and Fitbit have helped users wear smart bands on their wrists, while gamers have been served with the VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift.
Impact of Wearable Technology & IoT on Business
But an intriguing question is - what about the business space? How can enterprises leverage the wearable technology trend to enhance their customer’s experience and, ultimately, their bottom line?
A Golden Opportunity
Carnival, a travel company, started to mull over this particular question a few years ago when it was struggling to entice a new group of holidaymakers onto its cruise ships. The company then designed Ocean Medallion, a token about the size of a 10p piece. Carnival aimed to use Ocean Medallion to replace mobile phones, credit cards, and such other devices once a customer boards their ship.
The token needed to be worn on a customer’s wristband, as a chain or carried in one’s pocket or purse. The users can use the band for everything from checking in on the ship to paying for products purchased.
Guests were made to use the accompanying mobile apps to make reservations or order food or drinks for a show in advance – and as soon as they arrived at the destination, the token would alert the crew so the guests can be checked in seamlessly and served. The app also sent alerts to the housekeeping team when guests are out of their cabin. This made it easier for the housekeeping team to know when the cabin spaces are unoccupied so as to clean the crew and perform the daily activities without disturbing the guests.
Furthermore, Princess Cruises have installed 7,000 sensors, 650 readers and 122km of cable to ensure a seamless customer experience. The company finds it a worthwhile investment in order to establish a massive base of cruise fans.
The Possibilities Are Endless
* By taking advantage of wearable devices and Internet of Things, both consumers and businesses can drive new opportunities in the following ways:
* In the near future, people will put on multiple wearable devices that connect with a variety of IoT enabled systems, thus facilitating data collection and information retrieval.
* IoT is expected to improve employee efficiency, strengthen data security and subsequently enhance the client experience.
* Mostly all wearable devices are hands-free which will enable users to multi-task. It is safe to expect wearable devices to be widely accepted by organizations and all of its employees around the world.
* Internet of Things will simplify the process of managing Big Data and extracting and utilizing relevant information, thus manifesting new ways to utilize and benefit from the massive chunks of valuable data.
The wearable technology and IoT will make everything computable and connected. It will enable a continuous flow of information back and forth. And while it is difficult to predict the extent to which organizations will be affected, it is certain that those who adopt and implement it early on will achieve substantial benefits while staying ahead of the competitive curve. Are you planning to leverage wearable devices and IoT applications in partnership with a custom mobile apps development company? How do plan to align its use with your existing business processes? Let us know using the comment section below.
