2015 saw wearables force their way to the forefront of the consumer market. The Apple Watch in particular has shown signs of being a success whilst other products such as Google Glass and Samsung Gear have greatly missed the mark. Despite the increasing demand for wearables, we have yet to see a mass adoption of these new gadgets. It’s becoming apparent that wearables are not yet ready for mass consumer acceptance. But is there a case for deploying wearable tech in business?
This new technology has the potential to save organisations both time and money. Like mobile devices, wearable tech can certainly boost productivity, increase efficiency and improve business processes. So as we look forward to 2016, is there the possibility that wearables will make a massive breakthrough in the enterprise?
Wearables have the ability to provide employees with real-time data access in addition to offering a new means of communication across the organisation. Whilst smartphones and tablets have some of the same capabilities, in environments where it is essential that workers have their hands free, wearables have a strong case for use.
The introduction of wearables in 2016 could be implemented across a variety of industry sectors spanning retail, healthcare, manufacturing and construction. According to Forrester, by 2020 wearable devices will be common in many organizations, and by 2024 they will be instrumental to how many employees do their jobs.
Much of the wearable discussion has been centred on the hardware devices themselves, whilst talk of the apps that will assist business processes is still in its early stages. Wearable apps will change the way organisations operate and an expanding enterprise app ecosystem will begin to fuel wearable tech adoption within businesses.
Bring Your Own Wearable (BYOW) may seem a long way off, nevertheless, it’s still well worth considering. Once wearables are fully embraced in the consumer market, forward thinking businesses should recognise the opportunities wearable tech will bring with it. BYOD is becoming increasingly prominent in the enterprise and there’s no reason why wearables won’t follow suit.
I think it’s fair to say that wearables haven’t lived up to anything close to mass adoption potential as of yet. However, wearable tech could become the new disruptive technology in the enterprise in 2016. If it does increase employee productivity and saves a business time and money, then organisations will be foolish not to implement this type of tech in their workplace.
By Andy Floyd, Head of Communications and Content at B60 Apps.
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