When the 2015 International CES opens today, so does a whole new age of interconnection. We’ll see technology that connects people with devices (and devices with each other) in more ways than ever, generating more consumer data than ever. That’s great news for companies that are perpetually looking for opportunities to create more personalized, meaningful user experiences — and for the consumers in search of those experiences.
What are you wearing?
Take smartwatches, for example. True to the Guardian’s prediction that the 2015 CES would be “stuffed to the rafters” with them, we’ll see more than a dozen smartwatch exhibitors on the show floor this year. Because they’re wearable, smartwatches can engage users in ways and in places that smartphones can’t — opening the door to more applications in areas ranging from health and fitness tracking and monitoring to fully hands-free mobile communication. Meanwhile, smartwatches are also coming down in price, paving the way for wider adoption. And they’re getting better looking, another factor that’s broadening their appeal.
The chic factor goes far beyond selling more smartwatches, though. As the list of exhibitors at the 2015 CES makes clear, the intersection of fashion and technology is becoming quite a popular destination. Adidas, Ralph Lauren and Under Armour are just a few of the clothing and fashion brands that will be on hand at the show with smart garments that use embedded sensors to collect data about physical activity and performance.
You could say that smart garments go beyond smartwatches in much the same way that smartwatches go beyond smartphones. They’re providing more ways than ever for consumers and technology to connect - and, in the process, providing more data companies can use to deliver more personalized, contextually aware experiences to users.
What are you watching?
Of course, smartwatches and other wearables aren’t the only ways consumers connect with technology. Another trend we’ll see at the 2015 CES is unbundling content and/or content providers connecting directly with consumers, instead of mass-distributing their content through traditional cable and broadcast channels.
In a huge announcement yesterday by Dish, Sling TV will provide access to live news and sports à la carte, without a cable subscription. For $20 a month, viewers will be able to access 12 major channels with simply a credit card and broadband. Another prominent example of this move toward a new way of distributing and consuming content is HBO. HBO has announced plans to launch a streaming service in April that will make its content widely available to people who aren’t cable TV subscribers.
More and more content is becoming available to consumers anywhere they want it, as long as they have a broadband connection to stream it. And content producers like HBO will have a direct connection to customers that enables them to know exactly who is watching what, when, where and how. This creates an extraordinary new set of opportunities to personalize content based on contextual information that simply didn’t exist before.
At CES, we’ll be seeing a lot of technology associated with this shift to direct content streaming, such as 4K Ultra HD TVs that can stream the latest high-resolution content without the need for an external device; services that stream content to multiple TVs; and viewing platforms that bring together content from a variety of sources.
What’s next?
Perhaps the biggest news about interconnection to come from the 2015 CES is the prominent presence of the Internet of Things. At the 2014 CES, products associated with this phenomenon of devices that are connected to each other were few enough that they could be set apart in a dedicated area. This year, they’re everywhere. There’s a ceiling fan that’s controlled by a Nest thermostat, a mattress that tracks sleep cycles and adjusts room temperature in response, and various automated door locks, light switches and light bulbs, to name only a few.
As more things become connected to the Internet, even more information will be generated and collected about the world around us and our actions in it — and that information will contribute to the growing mine of raw data, ready to be excavated by those who have the right tools. 2015 brings a tremendous opportunity for companies that want to use data to tailor their products and services to their customers, as they find themselves in a position to store and access increasing amounts of data. It also represents a tremendous challenge, in that they’ll need to find effective ways to centralize and secure the data so they — and their customers — can derive real value from it.
