Withings ScanWatch: Ecosystems Offer Excellent Experiences

“Nature is a living whole, [this] universal profusion with which life is everywhere distributed. Organic powers are incessantly at work in their relation to the whole.” Words once written by Alexander von Humboldt, the great naturalist, precursor to Charles Darwin, find purpose in all crevasses of life. Watches included.

The Withings ScanWatch brings focus to your personal health through an ecosystem of seamlessly connected devices. Founded in France in 2009, Withings designs a variety of products, including scales, blood pressure monitors, thermometers, and watches. While on their own, each of these products may seem ordinary, Withing brings a unique element. All of the products they design are connected to each other, sharing data, user interfaces, and an elegant industrial design language. The interactions between these products form a harmonious ecosystem which in turn creates myriad benefits for the company.

Great Industrial Design Elevates Subtle Technology

The greatest aspect of the ScanWatch is how well its technology is integrated. At first glance it seems like a relatively simple, well designed analog watch. Upon further inspection you notice the graphic in the small circle beneath the 12 marker is your heart rate, the number bumps up a couple beats as this realization reverberates through your body. Where other brands in the smart watch space (Apple, Garmin, Fitbit, etc) opt to cover the entire device in battery draining touchscreen, Withings shows restraint, an oft forgotten tenant of design, that brings digital elements only where vitally necessary.

This restraint is evident, too, in the physical elements that make up the industrial design language of the ScanWatch. From the outer housing to the strokes that make up the logo, you will find only circles and lines organized with precise decision to construct a feeling of order. Every millimeter has purpose.

Each of these aspects boil down to a wonderfully functional watch from a technical perspective. The self-imposed constraint on digital technology translates to a battery life of 30 days while tracking heart rate, ECG, sleep patterns, activity levels, oxygen saturation, and breathing disturbances. Not to mention telling time. Impressive alone, the ScanWatch truly shines when considered as the focal point of the Withings ecosystem.

One For All And All For One

The most successful product ecosystems are measured by how seamlessly they connect disconnected aspects of our lives. The benefits are myriad: higher quality products, enhanced user experiences, loyal customers, user feedback loops, and increased revenue. All primarily driven by an investment in new product development.

This is apparent in the works of Withings, Sonos (home audio), and Google Home (smart home), all of whom give extra attention to the interactions between software and hardware. Even the websites of these companies are product-centric, showcasing the offerings front and center with quick links sending users directly to product pages. All aspects of the brand touch each other. Even the name Withings refers to the process of weaving and combining parts into a greater whole. Each touchpoint seems to be just one step away as ecosystems attempt to remove all hassle from the human machine interface.

The keys to growing a successful product ecosystem are starting with a minimum viable product (MVP) that establishes your identity and building a connected portfolio around it. Withings hit the market with the first connected scale. This device captured a simple idea flawlessly: collect data on your health to show you trends over time. From health to economics, trends offer the greatest insights to understand change in the most digestible and distilled information: a line (much like the simplicity of the ScanWatch’s design elements). The French product company then built further capabilities around their MVP. Each of the added products brought more touchpoints for users to add data to their health trends, all collected in a central app, accessible on mobile device or website. Secure data has power. Bryan Rahning, Senior Manager at PERLab, explains, “I can show these trends to my doctor at my regular check-ups, and it offers an expert with more knowledge more information to get a better picture of my health.” Through Withings Health Solutions , the company even offers medical professionals a pre-built platform to connect more directly with the data of their patients, enabling a strong two-way dialogue.

One common hesitation to connected devices is concerns over data privacy. What if users’ data is leaked or used nefariously? These ideas are top of mind for many people and should be top of mind for all brands that put connected products into the market. Withings has invested heavily in data security. Beyond the required compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation of Europe (GDPR), their products are ISO 27001 (information security management) and HDS (health data hosting) certified and they host their data on secure BSO servers. This is the same level of security offered by professional health services.?

Big Business Picture

Product ecosystems are clearly designed to benefit the end user, but they also enhance the business. Significant financial impact can be found from key inherent attributes of interconnected products. Taking a user-centric approach, these businesses focus on meeting their key customer’s needs across various touchpoints, understanding that their products are not for everyone. This creates an extremely loyal customer base. Once users invest in a system it benefits them to continuing adding on as each product aims to fit seamlessly into their daily journey . From an operations and technology perspective, building on and investing in a system creates opportunities for shared technology, data, and expedited innovation. The more data you collect from your users the more you will understand what their unmet needs are and can better serve them. This is vital. All it takes is focused investment in new product development and a firm product-centric approach to operations. The return is realized in consistently increasing revenues due to a loyal and steadily growing customer base. Mechanisms like tiered-subscriptions (of which Withings utilizes) keep consumers locked in to the multiple recurring benefits of their chosen ecosystem.

Much like Nintendo did with The Switch to bring a revolutionary gaming experience to fans , Withings has invested heavily in new product development, industrial design, and highly integrated technology to create a connected health ecosystem providing valuable insights to valuable customers.

Behind every product is a fascinating story that connects to our human world. Every month, our product experts will dive deep into the journey of a single product, bringing that story to life and connecting the dots between purpose, production, sustainability, and how it fits into our chaotic world. Join us as we unravel the exceptional mysteries behind seemingly ordinary objects.

This month's post was crafted by?Bryan Rahning and Peter Dash , product experts with Kearney's PERLab .