In my last blog “Google Glass — The Next Big App Platform” I discussed about the potential of Glass in enterprise mobility. In this blog, I’ll discuss what wearable tech actually means for business and the challenges it brings to the enterprise and how to prepare for it.
Wearable computing surely looks like the next big trend in technology. With devices like Pebble, Fitbit Flex, iWatch and Google Glass, it’s clear that the market potential of wearable computing stems from its diversity. Since there is no market leader in this field, the variety of products being developed are given the opportunity to pursue different, diverging paths.
We all know that these devices are solely focused on the consumer market, but have we ever thought about what these devices could do for businesses? Let’s evaluate some of the most probable potential enterprise uses of wearable computing that the future holds.
Possibilities for the Enterprise
The time of Google Glass is almost upon us, we’ll soon see video games with the heads up display to become potential realities. Google Glass will make it easy to identify capture, recognize and manage information making global business operations almost entirely virtual. There are unlimited business use cases for this device — spotting and engaging with business leads, pulling up shared performance reports of employees etc.
Another place where I see wearable computers sticking first is with big corporations that are spending heavy on insurance bills. Devices like Nike Fuelband and Fitbit Flex can be used by corporations to quantify employee quality of life and quality of health for insurance companies for negotiating rates. After all, one of the biggest cost for any company is covering insurance claims for employees.
Devices like Pebble Watch can make it convenient to access information, without having to reach for a device and can possibly be a big thing for retail shopping. Imagine a shopper entering a physical store, with real-time data streaming right to them on their watch as they walk the aisles, without them lifting a finger! Sounds exciting, right? This constant connection and instant access to information provided by wearable computing definitely provides a medium for innovative enterprise applications.