In the recent years, personal technology has seen rapid development, serving various unique needs of consumers. These include wearables, immersive virtual and augmented reality, sensors and mobile apps, and all this could have a significant impact on your business in the coming years.
According to a release from Gartner citing a speech from Brian Blau, Research Vice President at the firm, there are five main personal technologies that would outlive the current hype and prove to be an integral part of businesses. They are relevant from the security industry's perspective as well.
- Immersive augmented and virtual reality
Already technology giants like Google and Microsoft are seeking ways to take advantage of immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality to extend their product experiences to consumers beyond the traditional media. In this regard, virtual reality is seeing adoption in the consumer market, but for businesses, augmented reality is more attractive.
The potential is huge in both consumer and enterprise environments,” Mr. Blau said. “An immersive user experience enables deeper workplace engagement and can open the door to behavior change,” Mr. Blau said.
- Wearable devices
The number of wearable devices and their potential applications are growing every day. From head-worn cameras to smart shoes and watches, wearable technology is exploiting the possibilities that human body offers.
“Gartner forecasts that annual sales of wearable devices will exceed 227 million by 2020, up from 88 million this year. Form factors will move from bulky to inconspicuous and usability will improve as devices begin to anticipate user needs and wants,” the release said.
- Personal IoT sensors
“By the year 2021, one million new IoT sensor devices will be purchased every hour of every day,” Gartner said in the release.
The new devices will provide businesses with several new opportunities such as predictive maintenance and support for autonomous things.
- Virtual personal assistants and bots
In the future, personal virtual assistance would become more common, and they would interact with us instead of mobile apps directly doing so. The personal assistants would become a vital link for consumers and for businesses as they improve access to their apps, data and content.
- Advanced camera and vision technologies
This year and the next, camera would remain a top priority for smartphone vendors, according to Gartner. This has several enterprise applications.
“For example, customer digital assistants in retail outlets will recognize individuals by face and voice across channels and partners, proving opportunities to enhance the in-store experience,” the release said.