Wearable technology such as Google Glass, Nike+ FuelBand and the reported Apple iWatch will not only enhance consumers' lives, but will also provide a new source of commercially exploitable data.
In an interview with Computing, Rackspace CTO John Engates explained that wearable technology would need to be supported by cloud-based services and big data analytics.
"The product is only as good as the data it produces. The novelty factor will wear off [for consumers], so businesses will have to focus on how useful the product is for them," he said.
"It's about looking at what it could mean to businesses as they try to build products, advertising campaigns, and consumer connections that are powerful in comparison to people buying an item and the business losing their connection with them," he added.
Engates went on to say that wearable technology would enable businesses to have an "always on" relationship with that consumer.
"For example, Nike sell you a pair of shoes, they put a Nike+ sensor in the shoe, and the data is streamed onto the website. So Nike knows how often you wear the shoes, how many different pairs you are wearing and whether you are attached to that brand - it enables them to create further attachments to the consumer. We look at it as consumer technology, but if you are able to create an experience that is useful, businesses will do it because it is powerful to them," he said.
The Rackspace CTO suggested that it will be an interesting development for companies like Nike, in seeing what wearable technology means to the brand, the marketing department and the product development sides of the organisation.
"Every product at the high end of the spectrum is going to have some tie in [to the technology], so with Nike shoes that are $150 to $300, consumers are going to expect that the product has an option in which they can be connected to their internet of things, or their wearable technology in the cloud," he said.
Engates was speaking on the back of research commissioned by Rackspace in association with the Centre for Creative and Social Technology (CAST) at Goldsmiths, University of London.
The research, which explored the views of 4,000 UK and US adults, found that although only 18 per cent of UK and US respondents have actually used wearable technology, the vast majority (82 per cent in America and 71 per cent in the UK), believe that the technology has enhanced their lives.
