These days it is much more common to see someone staring at their phone in public than conversing with friends. Indeed, it would almost be weird to be commuting on the tube in London and see someone NOT looking at their phone or some other kind of smart device.
In many ways, this is rather sad; especially if we’re becoming more attuned to engaging with our smartphone then we are with our loved ones! However, no matter how sad this situation might be, there is no denying that our smart devices bring an enormous amount of value into our lives. You only need to lose or forget your phone for just a few hours to realise how much you rely on it. God forbid if you break it and can’t get a replacement within 24 hours!
More and more devices are becoming ‘smart’, i.e. embedded with technology that enables us to be connected to a range of services that not only help us with daily tasks such as grocery shopping, reminding us to buy flowers but even impacting on how we manage our health and banking.
You’d therefore be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t see this technology as a positive and agree that it has improved the way we live, and will no doubt continue to do so. Below are three examples of sectors that are making the most of the advances being made in technology and the advantages of connected devices:
1. Finance sector
We have seen a huge number of fintech businesses start up over the past few years. This should come as no surprise since they are all trying to utilise the gap in the market that has been made by organisations such as PayPal, Google and Apple. All of the aforementioned can take credit for helping to kick-start the financial sector’s drive to make access to banking/ finance easier for the consumer, i.e. access to real-time banking information via smart devices.
The financial sector did not, of course, have much choice in the matter. Once consumers understood what they could in fact get as a result of smart technology, the demand on the sector was huge. Enter banking apps, where consumers can now do everything from banking cheques and checking their balance to paying their bills. Of course, consumers also now have access to a range of other handy apps which allow people to do everything from easily paying their restaurant bill to splitting a taxi fare, and of course using contactless to pay for things through their smart devices.
2. Automotive sector
Customers want more and more, and now, with their ever increasing knowledge of what is possible, know they can get it! Smart technology is therefore making auto manufacturers raise their game and this has resulted in connected cars.
Connected cars are being manufactured with a range of abilities thanks to the app integration technology that manufacturers now possess. It’s no longer enough to just focus on how the car looks and whether it drives well, no indeed. A car is now an extension of a person’s work and personal life so it needs to be able to provide a connected experience so that people can transition from work to their personal life in as smooth as manner as possible.
Your car can now serve as anything from a standard vehicle – to entertainer – to confidant, and of course, with all the latest development in driverless cars, to chauffeur!
3. Health sector
The last couple of years have seen a huge shift in the number of people becoming increasingly interested, and involved, in their general health and the way they live their lives. For instance, wearable technology such as Fitbit, and smart watches (e.g. Apple Watch) have becoming incredibly popular and enable people to track everything from the number of steps they’ve taken to their resting heartrate, and to the delight of many, even enable you to compete with your friends!
Smart technology has also increased the interaction between medical professionals, as well as between doctor and patient. For instance a number of apps, such as AirStrip with Apple Watch, which enables medical professionals to access real-time lab results, as well as Telcare, which enables live blood glucose results to be sent to predesignated people, such as your doctor or a family member. Smart technology for the healthcare sector is, without a doubt, advancing at an incredible rate and improving the experience of patients’ and medical professionals.
Technology has made the world a lot smaller simply by ‘smartly’ connecting us, not only to one another but to a huge variety of things that a few years ago, we would have thought impossible. This has impacted on many people’s lives, no doubt negatively, as well as positively. However, whichever way you look at it, smart technology has and is changing the world, and will no doubt continue to improve and impress as well as encourage an increasing number of industries to get involved.