Companies like Fitbit and Nest Labs have realized there’s a lucrative business in selling the data collected by wearable devices and smart home automation devices.
The technology can be used for much more than turning down the temperature in your home or tracking how many calories you’ve burned today. It can be utilized to address larger problems involving health care and power consumption, as Forbes details in a new report.
Fitbit is working with employers to aid in corporate wellness programs. Fitbit sells its devices to thousands of employers, and the data collected from those gadgets may eventually impact group insurance pricing, health insurer Cigna said to Forbes. Fitbit CEO James Park said it’s one of the fastest-growing parts of the company’s business.
Fitbit’s corporate solutions website advertises its wellness program as a means of decreasing sick days and health care costs.
Forbes reports that Jawbone may consider starting a similar program in the future. The company’s vice president of product management Travis Bogart told the publication that it will “definitely be about the data as we move forward.”
Jawbone could even possibly one-up Fitbit by offering custom analytics software for employers, according to the Forbes report.
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Jeffrey R. Ungvary President