How Microsoft will Deliver the Promise of Health on Cloud

Here is how Microsoft is set to deliver on the promise of Health taking help from Cloud infrastructure - Global IT major has unveiled its intelligent health engine and its bet in the wearable segment - Microsoft Band.

As there is rapid innovation occurring around wearable devices, powered by smart sensors, wearables are telling people more about their lives and giving better information oriented details about fitness and health. A vibrant marketplace of devices and services is giving end customers access to a wealth of data about their nutrition, health and fitness. Microsoft is set to address this market with its initiative on health.

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The Microsoft Health platform includes a cloud service for consumers and the industry to store and combine health and fitness data to create powerful insights. Microsoft Health will be available for consumers from the new Microsoft Health app which launches today on Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Also launching is the Microsoft Band, a smart band designed for Microsoft Health, for people who want to live healthier and be more productive.

Microsoft Health will unite data from different health and fitness devices and services in a single, secure location. Once stored in Microsoft Health, users can combine the data they generate from different devices and services – steps, calories, heart rate and more – to receive powerful insights from Microsoft Intelligence Engine. The Intelligence Engine will share insights such as:
•Which exercises burned the most calories during a workout
•The recommended recovery time based on the intensity of a workout
•The amount of restful vs. restless sleep

Over time, users will have the choice to combine your fitness data with calendar and email information from Office as well as location-based information and more. With people making more data available, the Intelligence Engine will get smarter and provide more powerful insights, such as:
•Fitness performance relative to work schedule
•Whether eating breakfast helps you run faster
•If the number of meetings during the day impacts sleep quality.

The company has announced that Microsoft Health will work with UP by Jawbone, MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal and RunKeeper.

The Microsoft Band has 10 smart sensors for 24-hour heart rate monitoring, calorie burn measurement, advanced sleep quality tracking and more as well as Guided Workouts curated by Gold’s Gym, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle & Fitness.

What Microsoft Partners Say

“We are excited to have Microsoft Health integrate with our open platform. This will allow us to provide even more personalized insights through the Jawbone UP® system in the future.” – Travis Bogard, VP of Product and Strategy, Jawbone.

“As a leader in Connected Fitness, we are excited to take part in the Microsoft Health platform. Both Microsoft Health and Under Armour/MapMyFitness aspire to connect a wide range of fitness tracking devices, via an open cloud platform, to make fitness simpler and more rewarding. We look forward to the development of Microsoft Health and cannot wait to share even greater insights with our community.” – Brian Pitstick, Director of Business Development, Under Armour.

“RunKeeper is thrilled to join Microsoft in our shared mission of encouraging healthy and active living. A single, open destination for fitness data will allow us to provide even better insights to the more than 36 million people around the world using RunKeeper to experience the joys of running.” – Jason Jacobs, CEO and founder, RunKeeper.

“At MyFitnessPal, user success is our true North, and we are excited to join Microsoft in their mission to make fitness easier through Microsoft Health. Plugging into their cloud platform will allow us to match up fitness and nutrition data from our 65 million users around the world with deeper and broader data, ultimately helping people build even healthier habits in their everyday lives.” – Mike Lee, CEO, MyFitnessPal.

“Partnering with Microsoft on Microsoft Band aligns perfectly with our mission at Gold’s Gym. Together, with our goal-based workouts created specifically for Microsoft Band, we will help people achieve their potential through fitness.” – Michael Cobb, Chief Marketing Officer, Gold’s Gym.