Home 5 Killer Types Of Wearable Apps For Companies

5 Killer Types Of Wearable Apps For Companies

Guest author Quinton Wall is the director of developer relations at Salesforce.

While wearables may still be in their ramp-up stage, there’s little doubt they are here to stay.

Gartner expects the wearables market will hit $10 billion by next year, while IDC anticipates 120 million devices will be shipped by 2018. We know that fitness trackers are a market success and are a considerable part of those numbers, and we have a pretty good idea that consumers will continue to use them for grabbing notifications and tracking their activities on the go. What many remain unconvinced about is how wearables will impact the enterprise.

They won’t be unconvinced for long. Wearables are set to have a major impact for companies and other organizations.

To be clear, we aren’t talking about wearables as single-purpose devices (such as fitness trackers). We’re looking at wearables as general purpose computers. For businesses, they will provide an unprecedented way to help them improve productivity and safety, and introduce the app economy to industries where apps have been lagging. Think areas like construction or manufacturing. Beyond vertical industry value, these devices will also offer killer applications across all industries.

At Salesforce, we are seeing customers building wearable apps for work. The following are the five killer categories of applications among the most common use cases.

5 Killer Types Of Wearables Enterprise Apps

Security

We’re all familiar with security and building badges. Anyone who visited the large enterprises and government agencies knows that some people have to wear two or three to get around large campuses. 

Wearables can be used to provide watch-based security identifiers and replace those traditional photo IDs and badges. In addition to just providing NFC (Near Field Communication) authentication, because of the screen and computer, wearables make it possible to add informational messages to the user. 

If there is there a new mandatory meeting employees can be told where and when. If a user is denied access, the security alert can detail why.

Field Service

Manufacturing and construction are billion dollar industries, yet they only spend approximately 2% of their IT budget on mobile. More over, 80% of workers do not have access to technology that allows them to work more efficiently. 

Wearable technology—such as Google Glass for hands-free operation, the Fujitsu wearable glove, and even connected clothing that can detect hazardous chemicals—unlocks the potential for re-imagining field service in much the same way industries like transportation have been influenced by mobile apps. 

Booking-office resources

Consider the day to day hassle of booking a meeting. What seems to be a simple and easy task—grabbing a conference room—never is simple or easy. 

With wearables, anyone can find and book a room with a swift scan of room availability from the wearable. The user can then quickly use the wearable interface to set duration and any necessary equipment. Wearables can also use map features as a way to guide meeting participants to the correct room using augmented reality, or receive by turn directions.

Collaboration

Wearables will also improve how we collaborate. Workers often rely on the advice of colleagues, supervisors, and even public Internet resources, such as YouTube, to provide additional assistance. 

Augmented reality in many industries can be used to facilitate collaboration between coworkers—in ways not all that different from how office workers have been using screen-sharing applications. Collaboration will be available everywhere—from the worker at her desk, to the oil rig technical suspended high in the air. They will be able to work together in real-time, hands-free, and immersive ways. 

Improvement for task and recording accuracy

Wearables will have a serious role in streamlining back-office functions. A wearable can help track time spent on projects, manage travel expenses, and even help employees take advantage of their benefits with local discounts, annual eyeglasses and vision rebates, credit unions, and more. 

Unfortunately, right now, most of these benefits go unused: Employees are either not aware, forget, or do not have access to the information at a time when they can act on it. By creating a wearable app that proactively notifies employees of benefits when they’re near vendors, employees can more easily take advantage of perks.

These are just five examples of how wearable devices can influence the enterprise. The use cases will only grow as the devices become more intelligent, interactive, and less obtrusive. Smart enterprises are at work embracing how wearables can better help them run their businesses. 

Lead photo by Intel Free Press 

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