PROJECT ASSIGNMENT: CLIENT CONSULTANCY GROUP WORK PROJECT, UPSTARTS, VERILY AND FITBIT You have recently started work at the consultancy company, Upstarts Inc., which is a consultancy business that is employs a mixture of 10 academics and 10 technologists as professional consultants. Your company is four years old and has made its name working for clients a mixture of governmental and industrial - in three key areas: 1. Healthcare Disruptions2. Real-Time Telecommunications and Data Communication Tools3. Ethical Implications of Big Data disruptionsYour company has become well-respected for the balanced approach to understanding questions academically. Each of the academic consultants have published regarding the work they do for clients. Each of your 10 professional consultants have helped start-up companies and established companies who work in disruptive innovation to harness the potential of their technology in a way that is ethically sound and attractive to society in general.Upstarts Inc., have been approached by Verily, the Alphabet owned healthcare technology company that has positioned itself at the intersection of technology, data science and healthcare. Verily are looking for strategic consultancy that will help them secure a principal position as a key player in the new world of healthcare of 2030, in which it is expected that the global population will rise by a billion to 8.7 billion, there will be more than 500 million people over 50, and 70% of all illnesses will be chronic illnesses. Have a look at the text, Healthcare Disrupted, available through the library. Aligned with this is a perception that all governmental healthcare systems will be facing increasing costs. The business opportunity being explored by Verily is that governments will be keen to see initiatives that will allow people to monitor chronic conditions without too much costly healthcare intervention, and that technology and big data may be employed to stave of debilitating health conditions by making people aware of the dangers and how to avoid them. This is seen as an opportunity for Verily to become involved in providing devices to help with the healthcare systems of tomorrow.Verily have a number of technology related projects which they are very proud of, including treatments for patients with atrial fibrillation, Lumi for monitoring babies 24/7, miniaturised glucose monitors to help people with diabetes, development of electronics to support smart lenses, and, the Verily study watch, the first Verily tool for bio-sensing. A key program for Verily with its study watch, was Project Baseline, a partnership between Verily, Stanford University and Duke University to study observational studies of users and store data on Google services. Over the years it has been clear at Verily that they have been lagging behind Apple in the tools being developed by Apple Healthcare. There has been increasing concern at how well accepted the Apple

Watch and other Apple devices have become in hospitals, health centres, and in the home. There is also concern at how well integrated the Apple approach has become with its stylish eco-system of products and services. In particular, the Verily Study watch has been unable to gain such traction with the public. Apple watches on the other hand, have been gaining in popularity.This fact, coupled with Apples comprehensive app library makes Apple the company to beat. In particular, Alphabet is concerned to see how quickly Apple Health is moving to corner the market in worldwide health studies tied to their eco system.There is also concern at Alphabet that there have been issues of bad press involving the company that may negatively impact on its ability to do substantial work in the healthcare field. Among a number of issues that have concerned the board are: the negative press on Boston Dynamics, the failure of google glass, the failure of google health, and concerns surrounding the relationship between Google and DeepMind and the UK National Health Service. Google (an Alphabet company) has been monitoring the success of the Fitbit, particularly its data driven personal health subscription plan. Verily and Google decided, in the interests of supporting Verily, to dispense with the Verily Smart watch, and to, instead focus on Fitbit. Consequentially, in November 2019, Google bought Fitbit. A number of issues have come along with the purchase. Not least of which, how users of Fitbit will respond to Google owning their platform. The concern at Alphabet is that although the company has a great deal to offer in healthcare, it must be very careful as it navigates the next 10 years. The most important recent issue in Europe has been that in August 2020 the European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Fitbit by Google under the EU Merger Regulation. Verily would like to anticipate the results of the investigation and start their business in Europe as well as possible.This is a very delicate period for Verily as there have been major concerns voiced by the European Union about the purchase of Fitbit by Verily. Two issues stand out. Firstly, that there is an ongoing European investigation into the purchase. Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. EU regulators now want the company to pledge that it will not use that information to further enhance its search advantage and that it will grant third parties equal access to the Fitbit data. A second big issue is the establishment of Coefficient , which is an insurance company that could potentially use Googles extensive data to bring information about a persons lifestyle into their insurance claims and costs.From a sustainability perspective, Google has made a commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a data partner. And there is some work being done on how wearables are already assessed in contributing to developing 'base of the pyramid' markets.Your company has been seen as one that has a clear view of consumer expectations and ethical technology. Verily has become keen to address all of the ethical questions that surround such issues as the relationships between the data that Google gathers and its uses in the real-world. Upstarts Inc., have being given an opportunity by Verily to help them in absorbing all of the challenges that face them between 2021 and 2025, and to provide strategies for:1. Being seen as a trustworthy, ethical healthcare provider, at least on a par with Apple Healthcare;2. Being an innovative, ethical, user of data and developer of medical breakthroughs that will reduce costs to national healthcare providers and be attractive to users;3. Developing a new relationship between its product development arm and with academia, such as in Project Baseline;