What Impact Will Wearable Technology Have On the Workplace?

Wearable technology isn’t a new concept, but lately it’s been exploding in popularity. People love the fact that they can use their watch to perform various features that a smartphone can accomplish, and they enjoy how their workouts can be monitored by various health sensory-type devices. However, is this obsession with wearable technology going to amount to anything, or will it be a notorious flop?

What Constitutes Wearable Technology?
Most forms of wearable technology consist of devices that can easily be worn by fitness enthusiasts, who use the technology to track their progress and monitor their body’s physical well-being. However, the wearable technology industry has been gaining traction in recent years, with devices that are designed to improve productivity and efficiency for the average office worker.

As explained by CyberTrend:

A 2014 Parks Associates study projected that smart watch sales will reach 121 million units worldwide by 2018. Similar to a smartphone or smart TV, a smart watch can connect a user to the Internet for access to real-time data. Generally, smart watches will offer users some basic features (current weather, music, access to email and texts, etc.), which are also available on smartphones. Depending on the model, some folks can use their smart watches to control their smart TVs, capture pictures, video chat, and run scaled-down versions of common smartphone apps, in addition to using the device as an activity tracker.

While wearable technologies have varied uses, not all is well for these devices. Despite their increasing popularity, how practical are they when compared to the devices they’re mimicking? For example, the smartwatch gives its user a lot of information that could just as easily be obtained by using a smartphone. Furthermore, it would be much easier to use a smartphone to find this information, rather than on the miniscule screen of a smart watch.

When it comes to smart glasses, like Google’s failed Google Glass, the question of privacy has crippled the progress of the industry. The main concern with Google Glass was the idea that confidential information could be shared much more easily than if the data was found on a laptop or a workstation.

How Do Wearables Affect Your Workplace?
If you have workers taking advantage of wearable technology while in the office, you should be aware that any Internet-connected device presents risks that can be taken advantage of by hackers. The trends known as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and the Internet of Things (IoT) present a significant issue for security-minded businesses. With more devices connected to your organization’s network, there’s more chance that data could slip through the cracks and be stolen by the odd hacker. This is why it’s important to keep a close watch on the devices that your employees are bringing to work with them. You want any devices that have access to corporate information to be outfitted with a mobile device management solution that’s designed to limit what types of information can be accessed by certain applications, remotely wipe any compromised devices, and so much more.

You don’t want your business to wear its data on its sleeve. Contact Directive at 607.433.2200 today to find out how you can achieve greater data security from mobile devices.