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How corporate innovators are utilising connected technology to

redefine customer interaction.

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the same way as a shaper, so he began investigating ways he could invite them into his workshop and still maintain a close connection.

Despite the technology being relatively new, virtual reality devices are now affordable and accessible to the everyday consumer, making it easier for go-getter brand owners to incorporate their use into the everyday way they do business, he says.

“In the new store, customers can put on the Samsung Gear VR goggles and be transported into the shaping bay with me and get a one-on-one tour of my creative workshop and a little insight into how we build the product.

“It’s a modern version of the traditional ‘localism’ mentality with the use of cool technology. Customers can also design their own custom boards using touch screen Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 devices also located in store. The whole space is really one of a kind.”

Cox, a former iPhone user who has converted to Android, says he now runs everything via Google apps, owing to its easy-to-use framework.

“You don’t have to be IT literate at all and they designed the system specifically with that in mind. When I made the switch over from

iPhone my life became a lot easier because the things I would normally have to wait until I could access my laptop, could suddenly be done on my mobile.”

Cox’s distain for time wasting saw him use his Samsung Galaxy S6 edge and new Galaxy S7 edge to write key notes and chapters for his first book set for release in October.

National airline, Qantas, is yet another example of how businesses have capitalised on mobile ecosystems to set future benchmarks.

Qantas customers in Sydney and Melbourne International First Class Lounges, as well as in the First Class cabins on select A380 services, were offered an inflight virtual reality entertainment experience in what was believed to be the world-first virtual experience offered for inflight passengers.

Able to transport users to an immersive virtual world at the click of a button to showcase the sights and delights of network destinations, new Qantas products, as well as the latest blockbuster movies, the addition of Qantas’ VR headsets represented a watershed moment for inflight entertainment.

Sydney surfer turned entrepreneur, Hayden Cox, has never had time to be tardy.

The progeny of a scientist father and a property developing mother, he was still a teenager when he first learnt to code a website, merely 22 when he opened his first commercial enterprise, Haydenshapes, and just 24 when he designed and patented a world-first parabolic carbon fibre frame surfboard construction concept dubbed FutureFlex.

Success with an additional performance surfboard design followed soon after along with a second manufacturing site, this time in the Californian city of Los Angeles in the USA.

2014 and 2015 saw the now 34-year-old continue to strive for improvement after the technology he developed helped him take out the titles of Surfboard of the Year two years running at the Australian Surf Industry Awards - ironic for a man who doesn’t like sand.

It was also the period where American fashion designer, Alexander Wang, came calling to tap into Cox’s vision of surfboards as both a visual art form as well as a vehicle for innovative performance by requesting that Haydenshapes produce a limited edition series of marble print surfboards for installations across New York and Tokyo.

Yet it is technology of a different kind that is now helping Cox continue to ride his wave of success.

Last year, Haydenshapes opened its first bricks and mortar retail store in Mona Vale on Sydney’s north shore. But in keeping with his unique view of the world, this was no run-of-the-mill surfboard store.

“I didn’t want to create just another surf shop, I wanted to do something completely different to what had been seen and focus more on the consumer- experience side, integrating my love of modern technology.”

Cox says the vibe is more of a lux surf offering with the light industrial surroundings of suburban Mona Vale affording it an ambience not often on offer to contemporary board manufacturers.

The aesthetic of the space is sleek and minimal and devoid of clutter while asymmetric concrete fixtures, designed by Cox following a trip to Japan, dot the interior.

“[The store] was created so that customers could engage a little deeper with who we are as a brand and what we are into - design, technology, premium product and of course surfboards.

“The environment that your product sits in can completely change the perception and the way people see it, so we wanted our store to be the pinnacle of this experience for our brand.”

Cox says both professionally and personally he has always been hugely influenced by different communication platforms and the rapid way the technology behind them is advancing.

To this end, Cox has been quick to incorporate a Samsung mobile ecosystem into the business which sees him operate an open network of connected devices that allow him to communicate with his inhouse team, offices and manufacturing facilities across Australia and America as well as his outsourced facility in Thailand.

Recognising his obvious interest in this area, last year Cox was invited to be a collaborative partner with Google, which introduced him to the virtual reality concept for the first time at a trade show in the US.

He was, he says, “immediately hooked” and eager to begin researching ways to incorporate it into Haydenshapes.

The business has grown a lot in the last few years and Cox says he went from talking daily with customers, to bringing on staff and focussing more on our international growth. It proved impossible to run a global business successfully and still connect with customers

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Samsung Electronics Australia says experiences such as these are increasingly common with more users discovering the innovative ways their mobile ecosystem can be used to help enhance the consumer experience.

The improved functionality delivered via mobile ecosystems allows business executives to save time and other resources. With ‘always on’ technology accessible on their terms, business executives can easily tailor their daily schedules and stay abreast of last minute changes with just a glance at their wrist or touch of a button.

Connectivity is the key to reshaping and redefining our experiences, whether in a professional or personal capacity, the company says.

“Mobility in today’s world is just as much about the ecosystem that surrounds a mobile phone as it is about the technical features of the device itself.”

While larger entities such as Qantas may find contactless payments, tablets and VR form key components of their ecosystems, smaller entities like Haydenshapes can use the same devices to generate a completely different experience.

The same is true of personal users that are wishing to connect with their loved ones.

“Social media allows us to share the experiences we have with friends and family that they would otherwise miss out on due to time, money, distance and sometimes even health. While social media improves a user’s ability to share their experiences, it often reinforces what others are missing out on rather than allowing them to share in the moment with the user.”

Currently, the combination of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Gear 360 camera is the only eco-system that allows its users to create and share immersive experiences that allow other people to live the moment with the phone owner, as if they were there.

“With more than one device connected and capable of capturing and sharing experiences differently, a shift is created from sharing moments that people passively observe, to sharing moments they can actively live.

“There’s no longer a need to miss out.”