We've heard it since the discussion on wearable devices first began: wearable devices are a niche market, they say. Wearables are a fad, we hear. Well, they better think again.

We've heard it since the discussion on wearable devices first began: wearable devices are a niche market, they say. Wearables are...

We've heard it since the discussion on wearable devices first began: wearable devices are a niche market, they say. Wearables are a fad, we hear.
Well, they better think again.

Many use cases are undeniably suited for enterprise wearable apps, and they promise to profoundly change, over the years ahead, how people interact with their applications, data, and even environment. Juniper Research expects the broad wearables market to grow ten fold in the next four years to $53.2 billion in 2016. That's up from $4.5 billion in 2014.
I spend a great deal of my time talking to customers about what they need from wearable devices for their business. Throughout these discussions, a number of common use cases typically emerge. I wanted to share six important wearable app categories every enterprise needs to know.

Notifications

Wearables add new dimensions to traditional text messages. As an extension of your business, wearables can provide actionable notifications beyond simple read only messages, including haptic feedback, such as buzzing at different levels of intensity to differentiate between informational, warning, and critical-level alerts. In the future, augmented reality feedback, such as flashing red for visual warnings and audible cues for low visibility environments, will also enter play.
For instance, engineers responsible for ensuring uptime and performance of applications can leverage apps developed for wearable devices, such as smart watches, to deliver actionable notifications. Apps should include the ability to instantly scale services, start emergency failover processes, and authorize users without the need to open a laptop.
Wearables that detect unsafe levels of noise can warn the worker with haptic alerts or visual feedback that they are approaching dangerous areas, or automatically perform regulatory checks as part of city or council inspections. In offices, wearables can warn of a fire, alert workers, and guide them to the nearest exits.

Interacting with the office environment

Employees typically spend eight hours a day at the office, and while technology has tremendously changed how we work and increased productivity, it hasn't changed how we interact with our offices.


http://www.infoworld.com/article/3008871/mobile-technology/six-important-wearable-app-categories-every-enterprise-needs-to-know.html