Getting wear out of Salesforce

Wearable devices are already the `happening’ consumer status symbol, especially in the part of the world – California’s Silicon Valley – which the likes of CRM big gorilla, Salesforce.com, call home territory. It is a fair bet, therefore, that this area will also be the place to see the first enterprise early adopters of wearable technology emerge.

From that thought it is only a small step further for a major Silicon Valley business to add wearable devices as an addressable device type. After all, many of its staff are likely to wear them, so they may as well test the potential as both an early adopter and an early service provider.

So Salesforce has launched Salesforce Wear, claimed to bethe industry's first initiative for wearable computing in the enterprise. The company also launched the new Salesforce Wear Developer Pack, empowering developers to kick-start their ability to connect companies with their customers through apps for wearables in entirely new ways.

In addition, ARM, Fitbit, Google Glass, Pebble, Philips, Samsung and others have joined the Salesforce Wear initiative to accelerate adoption of wearables in the enterprise.

According to Adam Seligman, VP, developer relations at Salesforce, all of these new devices have different application architectures, UX patterns and data flows. The Wear Developer Pack handles the identity, secure API access and plumbing necessary to connect the device to the Salesforce1 Platform, letting the developer focus on innovative new use cases.

The company sees wearables as the next phase of the mobile revolution, allowing companies to exploit the significant opportunity these devices offer to connect with customers in new ways.

Philips has already developed advanced health sensor technologies for use in wearable devices and sophisticated cloud-based services, and according to Jeroen Tas, CEO of Philips Healthcare Information Services & Solutions, it sees great promise for cloud-connected wearable device technologies in the healthcare industry.

“Wearable devices represent the next phase of this mobile revolution. Perpetually connected wearables will enable workers, partners, and customers to experience new levels of immediacy, simplicity, and context in their mobile computing experiences. Wearables aren’t just a consumer phenomenon; they have the potential to change the way organizations and workers conduct business,” wrote J.P Gownder in the January 2014 Forrester Research, Inc. report, “The Enterprise Wearables Journey.” 

The dramatic growth of wearables creates a tremendous opportunity for businesses to connect with customers, partners and employees in entirely new ways. According to an IHS white paper titled Wearable Technology – Market Assessment, roughly 50 million wearable units will be sold in 2014, and more than 180 million are predicted to sell in 2018.

With the massive number of devices coming into market, it is imperative that companies understand how consumers will operate in a hands-free world. Wearables are the future of mobile, and companies can now discover new ways to market, sell, service and more.

Salesforce Wear will enable companies to deliver connected 1:1 experiences, where going to a favorite casino, resort or amusement park will mean never having to pull out a wallet, juggle a hotel card key or search for an app. From the business or service provider’s point of view it creates the chance to anticipate needs and give VIP treatment to any visitor.

Contextually Aware Sales Appswill enable salespeople to be more connected to the digital world while being more present in the real world. Checking a mobile phone or opening a laptop during a meeting can be a distraction. A quick update right from the wrist can provide the necessary information without losing focus. Faster, safer service resolution will reach a whole new level where service technicians, such as oil rig workers or medical device reps, will be able to access live data, review plans for the equipment they are fixing and get real-time coaching, right from their glasses as they work. And they’ll be able to share exactly what they’re seeing—completely hands free.

The Developer Pack is aimed at helping the company estimated 1.5 developer community kick-start their ability to connect companies with their customers in entirely new ways through wearable apps. Enterprise developers can immediately access a growing library of devices, sample code, documentation, demonstrations and reference apps to learn from.

The company also aims to build a Wear ecosystem to support devices which can be worn on the face, wrist and body for a variety of use cases. These include Android Wear, ARM, Fitbit, Google Glass, Myo, Nymi, OMsignal, Pebble,Philips, and Samsung.