Over two and half years ago, I wrote that wearables would be the next "disruptive innovation" but acknowledged we're not there yet. Once the right company with the right design comes along, this new market will take off just as fast as when Apple introduced their first iPad. Despite Apple introducing their smartwatch, I still sit on the sidelines waiting for the right wearable to convince me the time to buy one is now.
What a great irony it is that we live in a world where there is more than enough food to feed all seven billion people, yet statistics show that 870 million people go hungry every year. One person out of every nine lacks the daily nutritional requirements to “be healthy and lead an active life.” At this point, ending world hunger depends not on getting more food, but on improving technologies that identify where it is needed most, and get it distributed there quickly and efficiently.
Used to receive work schedules, locate sites through GIS applications, carry out risk assessments and report activity
Northumbrian Water has rolled out 500 Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 tablets to its field workers. The rugged devices are the single mobile tool used by NWL’s field force to provide real-time access to all its major systems. They are used to receive work schedules, locate sites through GIS applications, carryout risk assessments and report activity. Photos of sites or incidents can be taken using the tablet's camera and attached and sent directly to the system. Users can also access their office email and the internet, ensuring they have access to all the important systems when out working.
Mobile apps are inseparable part of our daily lives now. As per a latest report by BI Intelligence, there has been a 48% increase in purchases made through mobile devices from the previous year. A report by ComScore suggests that more than 60% of web traffic generated by leading nine US retail sites have been mobile users.
Wearable technology has become more advanced than ever in recent years; first came the emergence of smartwatches, then digital eyeglasses, and now even clothing which can monitor your health and stream data to your phone. One has to wonder where wearables are headed, with so many users seeking out the newest and the best, and companies striving to meet this demand. The answer is: only up.
What Companies Are Doing to Make Theirs Stand Out
A British entrepreneur, Kevin Ashton coined this term “Internet of Things” in 1999. Also called “Internet of Everything”, it is the way of interaction amongst network of physical objects or things included within software, sensors, electronics, and connectivity. It enables objects to transfer data inside a network, to connect with humans, with computers or with other objects.
Apple is often on the cutting edge of technological advances, so it probably shouldn't be a surprise that the company uses big data extensively. Having said that, it’s important to note that it wasn’t always this way. Other businesses like Google were heavily involved in big data years before Apple took the leap, but Apple has worked tirelessly to catch up to the competition. Now, the company has become enmeshed in big data analytics, with the technology driving many of their most important decisions. It’s true that Apple remains highly secretive about how they use big data in many cases, but that hasn’t prevented some interesting insights from being divulged.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is lauded by most as the next great revolution in technology. A world where every object we use has a sensor, enabling it to connect to the internet so it can communicate with each other and the user is a world that seems like something out of science-fiction. With the Internet of Things fast approaching, that world could become a reality very soon. Experts estimate that the IoT market could be worth as much as $1.7 trillion by 2020, with more than 50 billion devices connecting to the IoT by that time. But where will much of that growth come from? The U.S.
Spring brought to South Dakota plenty of rain. The lawns are green, the flowers are in full bloom, and it seems we can't go beyond a couple days without a rain shower or thunderstorm. While water is usually plenty for my city, we do things smart around here and restrict water usage for our lawns year round. It's not uncommon in my part of the country to see the weather pattern quickly change from wet to dry. What once was green can turn brown in a hurry.
Direct marketing has gone through a number of transformations over the years.
And while certain aspects have changed, strategically driven direct marketing is still as viable as ever in helping businesses attract today’s discriminating customers and meet their high demands.