Internet of Things in Health and Fitness Industry - Fitbase Case Study

This report discusses the characteristics and significance of the Internet of Things globally, organizational opportunities and challenges posed to the Health and fitness industry due to the Internet of Things, and the application of value chain analysis to analyze how the value is created and delivered in the business by the Internet of Things (IoT) using Fitbase as a case study.

Internet of Things

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Identify and Evaluate the characteristics and significance of the Internet of things globally ....3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Analyse the organisation opportunities and challenges that are posed to the Health and fitness
industry due to the Internet of Things.........................................................................................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
Application of value chain to analyse that how the value is created and delivered in the
business by the Internet of Things (IoT).....................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
The internet of things commonly known as IoT is the technological advanced system that
has interrelated computing devices, digital machines and objects that has unique identifiers and
also capability to transfer information over the network without any requirement of human to
human and human to computer interaction (Manavalan and Jayakrishna, 2019). In the field of
health care the Internet of things has gained huge importance after the emergence of the Covid-
19. Especially for the gyms and fitness centres the applications of the IoT are used to create the
personalised customer focused digital workout solutions. The valuation of the Internet of Things
in the fitness and healthcare segment has created a huge valuation with the smart fitness market
that operate through apps is truly impressive. The present report is discussion on the “Fitbase” - a
fitness company that has healthy app which has multiple features of scanning the body of human
in order to provide the dietary and fitness program and solutions. The report will highlight the
characteristics of the IoT globally. In addition to this organisational opportunities and challenges
posed by the IoT to the company are discussed. In the end the value chain analysis of the usage
of IoT is discussed in report.
TASK 1
Identify and Evaluate the characteristics and significance of the Internet of things globally
In a nutshell the Internet of things is the technological feature which has the factors like
Connected devices, massive amount of Big data, networks and smarter orientation than the
internet technology. Globally in context of the Internet of things in business it defines the
network of the physical objects that are linked using the sensors, software and other technologies
in order to focus on connecting and transmitting the data from one device to another over the
internet technology (Lu, Papagiannidis and Alamanos, 2018). In context of the Fitbase – a
healthy app the IOT is used to connect the activities like running, heart rate, sleeping hours,
mobile phones etc. to one healthy app to all the activities in order to scan and measure the body
of the human to the internet. This allows the fitbase to track the seamless communication,
process and things of the people through app.
Characteristics of the globally Internet of Things

the characteristics of the globally Internet of Things is basically the features that technology has
over the other technology which make it unique and effective in the different sectors like Fitness
app like Fitbase. The key characteristics are enlisted below:
Connectivity: In case of IoT, the connectivity is the key characteristics. Without the effective
interrelation or seamless communication of the IoT devices like Sensors, data hubs etc. the IoT
ecosystem cannot be executed properly into the business of the Fitbase. The IoT devices has
potential to get connect via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Radio Waves etc. It is critically evaluated that this
characteristics ,maximizes the efficiency of the app and also establish the generic connection.
Sensing: the humans has a natural power to analyse and understand the situations, feelings etc.
without any tool or device. But it is not possible in case of IoT because it needs to read or sense
the analog signals that convert into the derivable meaningful insight. In context of Fitbase – a
healthy app the GPS, light sensors to gather the information from the human activities.
Active engagement: The IoT devices has potential of connecting the different devices and
products together through cross platform technology and services to create an active
engagements among the IoT technological components. IN case of the Fitbase this characteristic
of the to is helpful to increase the business capacity and also to make decisions accurately using
different device features by creating the IoT ecosystems.
Intelligence: This is the key feature of the IoT in the today' world as the intelligence in the
devices to track impossible is what make the business different and innovative (Wu and et. al.,
2019). The IoT has potential for this kind of analysis through its intelligence technology. The
IoT has massive deep learning models that gains and insight of the valuable elements that are
required by the Fitbase app to scan the human body and provide the healthy diet solutions
accordingly.
Safety: the IoT technology has this main feature that it is high in safety and security. IN the
whole flow of the information from one device to another the technology has effective feature to
protect the data from been stolen or breached. Wile usage and designing of the Iot devices into
the Fitbase app the company adhered to the proper safety and security measures like firewalls to
keep the data of the customers protected form been breached or misuse and manipulated by any
other serve in between. This eventfully make the this technology safer to use.
Significance of the Internet of Things globally

 tracking the activities of the daily routine and of the human body is the key significance
of the internet of things in the business of the Fitbase. Through different GPS an
thermostat technology this technology has significance in the daily life to track to routine
activities and convert them into the useful information.
 The most important thing about this technology is that it is accessible in the low cost and
also it is the low power sensor technology that make it eco- friendly and creates the very
minimal impact on the environment.
 The IoT enables the businesses like Fitbase to reduce the need of the human labour as it
allows the automated process making is cost saving technology. Also it has significance
in cut down on the e\waste and also improves the service delivery of the company to their
customers.
 The Iot technology offers the transparency of the information between the company and
its customers. Thus this is well connected technology with huge potential to provide the
competitive edge to the businesses like Fitbase.
TASK 2
Analyse the organisation opportunities and challenges that are posed to the Health and fitness
industry due to the Internet of Things
Every organisation is somehow exposed to several types of opportunities and challenges,
every business is required to apply the best strategy in the business so that they can effectively
deal with them in the future. The business is required to enhance the ways in which they deal
with the challenges that are imposed by the business environment. Fit base is one of those
industry that deals in the health and fitness sector (Yong and et. al., 2018). Their whole business
is based on the internet of things as their main services are offered through an application that
helps the user in scanning their body and further provides them with healthy diet and programs
of fitness. There are several challenges and opportunities that are faced by the business in the
industry due to the internet of things.
Challenges faced by Fit base in the fitness and health sector due to internet of things : Inaccurate information- The fitness and health sector is highly based on the factors such
as Internet Of Things as these days the whole industry is working on coming up with
services that supports the internet and the user can use those services from their mobile

phone (Frikha and et. al., 2021). The major challenge that is faced in the industry due to
Internet Of Things is the inaccuracy of the details that the client is providing in the
application and all the health solutions are given to the customers based on the
information that is provided by the users. If the information provided is inaccurate then
the application won't be able to suggest a good diet and hence the users won't see much
results in their health and fitness. Increasing competition in the industry- Day by day usage of IoT in the health and
fitness industry is becoming common and hence it is dragging the attention of several
businesses who are looking for opportunities in the business (Kang and et. al., 2020).
There are several industries in the market who are looking for expanding their operations
and services in the health and fitness area using the IoT. This has become one of the
social trend and everyone in the market wants to take advantage of the situation by
introducing their services in the market. Fitbase's major challenge these days is the level
of competition that is rising in the industry, and the brands who are going for pricing
strategies are offering the same services at a lower price in the market. Though fitbase
has a good customer base but every customer in the market is looking for the products
that are of low cost and fulfil the same purpose that the other products are doing in the
market. Maintaining the AI system- The AI system is the base on which the IoT runs and hence
maintaining this is essential for the business. In context of the Health and fitness industry,
the organisation who offers their services over the Iot that is the application needs to
manage the back end on which these services run smoothly. Maintaining and IT team is
easy but somehow there are several issues in the application and internet which makes the
services down for some time (Hsu and et. al., 2020). Restoring the services in the least
time possible is one of the major challenges that the business faces as the longer the
services is down, the longer it will register losses for the businesses. The services must be
restores as soon as possible otherwise the current users of the application would face
problems that will cause inconvenience to them. Maintaining good services is one of the
major reason which helps the business in retaining customers for a longer period of time.
Opportunities for Fitbase in the health and fitness industry due to Internet Of Things

 Enhancing the features- The major opportunity of any business that offers their services
on the applications is enhancing the features that they have on their application. In
context of Health and Fitness sector, Fitbase offers several features that helps the users in
making healthy and fit. However there are certain features in which the application lacks,
the business must hop on to the social trends such as the feature of sharing the health data
over the social media. If the business is able to offer such features then it will generate
new customers for business as social media is one of the greatest platform that helps in
raising the number of users of the application. Offering products that are related with IoT- The health and fitness industry is growing
at a good pace in terms of IoT, as there are several devices such as Fitness band which
helps in tracking the workout and other things related to the health of the person. Fitbase
has a good opportunity of offering such products as for now the market is limited and
there is good scope for the business to grow in the industry. They can launch their
products which will get connected to the applications that they are currently offering in
their business model.
 Offering the training modules- There are several businesses in the market that offers the
services such as the diet and the exercises but there are very few businesses in the market
who offers the module for the training (Tamilselvi and et. al., 2020). Fitbase can
collaborate with the fitness influencers so that they can increase their reach over their
followers. This will assist the business in growing the number of users as this is one of
the features that will help the customers in following a regime that is exactly how the
users will loose their weight and get fit. They can offer these videos exclusively on their
application which will attract more and more customers to buy their subscription and
hence this is one of the greatest opportunity that the business can grab to increase their
customer base.
TASK 3
Application of value chain to analyse that how the value is created and delivered in the business
by the Internet of Things (IoT)
The value chain analysis is a system which is used in the businesses to make the analysis of the
activities which is conducted in the business so that the management of a company can make the

analysis as to where the opportunity in a business lie. Fitbase is a health app which helps in
providing the measurement of a body so that they can provide the diet and fitness program
according to the people which requires it (Xu and et. al., 2018). If the business will make the
analysis as to how the factor of value chain is adding to the value then the business identifies that
where they have to add or subtract the activities. The value chain analysis covers different
components with which the business can create value and which is delivered by business with
the help of Internet of Things and those are discussed below-
 Inbound logistics- The inbound logistics covers the warehousing of products, making
management of the inventory. For the healthcare application, Inbound logistics are
considered to be difficult because it is not a conventional product driven based thing. But
for the business like Fitbase the Internet of Things is providing a lot of help to the
business in which this facility is helping them to support the logistics of the company.
They have developed the creation of machine-to-machine connection which enables the
packages and the equipment which is used by the Fitbase app providing delivery to the
patients. The facility of Internet of Things in the delivery of products is helping the
business to communicate all the time through the supply chain activities. Technology and
the use of such facility is helping the business like Fitbase to achieve success and is
playing a key role in this industry.
 Operations- In the business like healthcare, operations plays the most important role in
delivering value to people with the help of reducing the cost. Fitbase is based on a health
app which is useful to scan the body of their patients with the other services like that of
providing the diet and fitness program. But the value which is being provided by the
Internet of Things is extreme. It is because the Internet of Things is providing a lot of
benefits to the application like Fitbase in delivering the best service to the patients. Not
just the application but this Internet of Things is helping families, physicians, hospitals in
which they are creating value enabling the real time monitoring, providing the effective
and best solutions so that the data of patients can be collected in an easy way. Fitbase
makes the use of their services by providing the treatment plans, or any medical action
which is required to the patients on an urgent basis.
 Outbound logistics- This is related with providing the packaging, sorting and
distribution of products. The use of Internet of Things has made it really very better in

providing and deliver8ing the products at the doorstep of their patients because it helps in
managing the uncertainties which is usually made in the logistics. The use of sensor
enabled IOT the best solution in relation with the location and the vehicles which are
providing the products at the doorstep of patients can be tracked.
 Marketing and sales- This activity is related with the promotional activities of the
business in which they provide the information about the services which they are
providing and the products which they will deliver (Khanna and Kaur, 2020). For the
Fitbase Internet of Things has helped the company in providing the best products and
services to consumers in which they can be able to make the collection of information
including the insights of the patients behaviour. They help the business like Fitbase in
developing a new products which will be beneficial for their patients. It not only helps in
providing the best quality products to consumer but also at very good price so the price
range does not goes high. The other factor with which the Internet of Things is helping in
creating value to the business is that they help the marketing department in collecting the
information about the patients.
 Services- This refers to the activities which will take place after the service or the sale of
products has been made to the customer. The use of Internet of Things which is made by
Fitbase is on the basis of providing the best experience to the company (Butun and et.
al.,2019). This means that the Fitbase makes the best use of technology in developing the
understanding about how the product have performed and including the services which
has been delivered by the business to its patients. The business can also get the
information about the the products or services which has been failed in the market so that
they can make some new changes in it and to develop the competitive position in the
market.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that Internet of Things have helped the
businesses in working in a smarter way in which it provides a real way to identify the systems
which really work and provide the information as to how the machines will perform. It will help
the business to improve the customer experience and also productive to make improvement in
employee productivity. But while working with Internet of Things there are some of the
challenges which the organisation has to face it including the scalability and with the security

and personal privacy. While working with value chain analysis the business can improve its
working efficiency and can deliver the best services at a best price.

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