The country is just settling in after the last big technology transition — the one that brought us the idea of mobile devices and the social media phenomenon — changed the way people connect to their surrounding community. The Affordable Care act is well under way and government agencies are successfully enrolling citizens in health care programs.

As users, companies, and organizations are internalizing this new normal, the next transition is already already picking up speed as two of the youngest, most powerful industries impose the next shift on status quo:

The expanding world of mobile is reprioritizing the way organizations interact with users. Today’s connected citizen spends an average of 2.8 hours per day on a mobile device — compared to 0.3 hours per day in 2008.

As the private sector responds to such statistics with a new spin on the “location, location, location” mantra, bringing services to the user, real-time, they increase people’s expectations of having full access on the go. As a result, areas with the poorest user experiences tend to be addressed first, app-by-app, creating ripple effects that revolutionize entire industries (like Uber’s impact on the transportation industry). Organizations that can operate with the same speed and agility as their clients have an advantage over established brands with a set-in-stone, long-term visions.

Comprehensive access to basic government services on the go is especially critical in communities where mobile is their primary access to the connected world. Roughly 13% of Americans with an annual household income of less than $30,000 per year are smartphone-dependent, compared to just 1% of Americans from households earning more than $75,000 per year rely on their smartphones to a similar degree for online access. As more people look to mobile as their primary method of access, more devices are coming online, each bringing a new level of functionality.

Learn more about how Salesforce helps agencies adapt to market shifts like these:       Visit our Government Solutions

The emerging world of the “internet of things” (IOT) vision is becoming a reality as more devices come online, flushing out the portfolio of devices that connect to the internet. While many of these devices tend to still fall within the consumer category, an increasing number are bleeding into the professional world.

Take Eko Core, for example. Eko Core is an electronic attachment that enables physicians to record heartbeat and lung audio data, see visual patterns, and share findings with experts. Eko Core creates the world’s first connected stethoscope.

Inspired by a lecture at UC Berkeley that highlighted an absence of innovation in stethoscope technology for 200 years, founders Connor Landgraf, Tyler Crouch, and Jason Bellet set out to digitize and modernize healthcare’s most familiar medical device. Cleared by the FDA in September of 2015 and named one of TIME Magazine’s  Best Inventions of 2015, Eko Core represents more than a keen sense of applied innovation.

From the healthcare perspective, it represents a fundamental shift in the type of data the industry will rely on for delivering patient care. Detecting abnormal heartbeats can take doctors a lifetime to master. Eko Core gives primary care physicians a way to “bring the ear of the expert to any nurse or doctor” said Bellet. “It makes learning more hands on, more digital,” while simultaneously improving patient and doctor experiences. Eko Core demonstrates the opportunity to connect devices that have not previously been considered sources of data.

For government caseworkers, it represents opportunity. Because it produces a digital file, caseworkers managing details of a veteran, aging relative, or other clients in need of healthcare have an opportunity to easily incorporate cardiac care data. The information primary caseworkers need in order to develop a more precise plan that pulls in the right service provider at the right time is available to agencies now as companies like Eko Core impress on the way healthcare services are delivered, both public and private.

Impact on HHS, Government

Eko Core is proud to say that they are not just building a product — they are building a community. They are driving innovation that drafts off the best practices from these growing industries and bringing to life the community, with experts influencing care decisions in a watering hole built around the patient. HHS agencies have an opportunity to do the same.

As mobile matures, it turns out more functional devices capable of delivering more comprehensive information in context.

As IOT matures, a wider variety of data coming from such devices will continue to paint a clearer picture of citizens and of clients.

As more programs take advantage of the transformational opportunity these industries bring to business models (such as food stamps moving to digital payment options, or states allowing residents to take a driver’s test on their smartphone) the impact of on government and caseworkers will only intensify already complex demands.

HHS agencies need to incorporate data from many sources — including newly available unstructured data that comes from the internet of things — so they can operate with the degree of speed and agility expected by today’s mobile world. Caseworkers need this information at their fingertips so they can make the best decisions for their clients, enable timely communications, and deliver resulting services fast in order to maintain relevance and truly deliver on their mission: provide effective, comprehensive care and services in a way that is also fiscally sustainable.

Learn more about how Salesforce helps agencies adapt to market shifts like these:        Visit our Government Solutions