Research: Analytics Crucial for Making IoT Data Actionable

As the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes a reality, the role of data analytics will become more pronounced.

According to ABI Research's Wearable Data Analytics and Business Models report, traditional wearables, like fitness tracking devices, can offer raw health information. But applying analytics can help wearers to understand their health and get pre-emptive alerts on danger signals.

This is the reason why the research firm forecasts that wearable data and analytics services revenue will reach over USD 838 million in 2022, increasing from over USD 247 million in 2017, a CAGR of over 27%.

"Wearable devices have long been finding their way into the lives of consumers and enterprises, offering various features such as activity tracking, communication, access to information, and vital healthcare monitoring," Stephanie Lawrence, Research Analyst at ABI Research said in a press release.

"Data analytics adds a further benefit to the technology, giving users and companies actionable information based on the data that the devices collect, with deep integration through an increasingly connected market," she added.

According to ABI Research, there are many ways data analytics can provide this “added layer of insight.” These include furnishing healthcare professionals with analysis of health data collected patients, highlighting which patients would require immediate assistance. It can also provide consumers, athletes, and workers better insights into their fitness and activity levels, allowing them to improve their workout results.

Analytics can also help firms to understand workplace workflows and determine how to improve productivity. It can even provide law firms with “analysis of claimant activity levels after an injury” to determine if their levels are reduced.

"Raw data from wearable devices can often be overwhelming, providing the user, healthcare professional, or company with far too much information that doesn't have any real meaning," Lawrence said.

"With access to data analytics, this information becomes much more meaningful, allowing the user, healthcare professional, or company to take action. In the wider IoT market view, wearables provide a human-centric data source—a valuable asset for efficiency and safety improvements in the workforce," she added.