For those who attended Dreamforce ‘13, you might recall that Salesforce dedicated a large section of Moscone West to all things related to sensors and connected devices aka the Internet of Things. Accompanied by the release of its Salesforce1 app and platform, the push into #IoT signified a strategy change. Those watching its platform and ecosystem closely suspected it was only a matter of time before their next move in IoT was unveiled.
Well, here it is. On Tuesday of last week, the company introduced Salesforce Wear as described on its site as such:
“The Salesforce Wear Developer Pack is a collection of open-source starter apps that let you quickly design and build wearable apps that connect to the Salesforce1 Platform. Millions of wearable devices connected to the cloud will create amazing new application opportunities.”
The opportunity the Internet of Things provides can be simplified to two key components that users, developers, and enterprises stand to gain. First, less expensive and more accurate data is now easier to obtain. Second, those stakeholders can do away with traditional friction through thoughtful applications and user experiences. Look no further than Uber to understand the impact of simplifying – and thereby vastly improving – a traditional physical experience.
Applications like Uber are a glimpse of what is yet to come, not an end-all. Furthermore, if you looked at the Salesforce Wear page linked above, the focus is currently on human-wearables (smartwatch, Glass, etc.), but that too will evolve and expand as the greater Internet of Things market is expected to eclipse seven-trillion dollars (yes, with a T) by 2020. That growth will be due to both wearable uptake by consumers and M2M (Machine to Machine) sensor technologies – a subset of the IoT – that will eventually bring billions of things online. Look no further than Cisco’s massive Internet of Everything campaign and pages like this from their site that hint at ways Cisco envisions sensor technologies permeating our daily lives.
The Fruit Fly Approach: Developing and Innovating for the Internet of Things
If the mobile revolution caused you development and delivery challenges due to the litany of operating systems and devices in play, then perhaps you will be amazed when it comes to the segmentation the IoT has in store. With so many devices and burgeoning wearable platforms emerging, how can you effectively innovate and digitally experiment without shredding your budget? The simple answer is that you need to vastly lower your risk per innovative swing. Alternatively, you could decide to simply take fewer swings. However, in this era of crowdfunded disruption, cloud enablement, and incredible manufacturing velocity, you are no longer only up against your known competition. Instead, you may find yourself battling competitors that emerged from a garage and launched last week. Taking fewer swings at this time is a recipe for obsolescence.
Instead, consider donning your mad scientist apparel and approaching innovation through a different lens. Crowdsourcing allows you to experiment and innovate in wearables and the Internet of Things at extreme velocities while lowering your risk substantially. That is the combination that is needed – not only to grow, but to survive.
Bringing Wearables and the Internet of Things to Life through Crowdsourcing
Please consider the following work with client Brivo Labs as a prime example of how to use crowdsourcing to sprint ahead. **Important to note: Brivo’s products like Rändivoo, Rändivoo Mobile, and OKDoor (Glass Application) pair with Salesforce CRM to extend the value of the application and how it can be used for varied businesses and industry.
Case Study – Brivo Labs Creates 5 Applications/Products with Extreme Velocity through Topcoder
[button size=”big” color=”orange” link=”http://appirio.com/category/resource/crowdsourcing-for-enterprise-it/”]Free eBook: 10 Key Questions On Crowdsourcing in IT[/button]
