Google Said to Be Seeking Data and B-to-B Relationships with Fitbit Purchase

I have been blogging recently about the rationale for the recent Google purchase of Fitbit (see:Google to acquire Fitbit, valuing the smartwatch maker at about $2.1 billion). At first glance, it's somewhat unusual because Google is primarily known for software and not hardware. On the other hand, the huge wellness and fitness market is an attractive target. A recent article speculated on the"real reason" for the purchase (see:The Real Reason Google Is Buying Fitbit) and below is an excerpt from the article:Google already has plenty of hardware and software chops. What else does it get out of the Fitbit deal?The most obvious potential lure is the health data of millions of Fitbit customers. Fitbit devices have been tracking wearers ’ health metrics for over a decade, cataloging behaviors like steps taken, calories burned and exercises performed. That’s just the kind of thing Google, fundamentally an advertising company, needs to further build out its profile of, well, you.Advertisers already take educated guesses at your health status, with apps like period trackers sharing your info with Facebook and others....What else, then, does Fitbit have that ’s attractive to Google?....Through its health-focusedVerily subsidy, Google has been working on cardiovascular health, diabetes and more, but it hasn ’t been publicly pushing healthcare as a business proposition. Fitbit, however, has been doing exactly that....Gartner senior analyst Alan Antin says Goog...
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