Enterprise Wearables: IBM HorizonWatch 2016 Trend Brief

© 2016 IBM Corporation
IBM Market Development & Insights
Note: This report is based on internal IBM analysis and is not meant to be a statement of direction by IBM nor is IBM committing to any particular technology or solution.
Enterprise Wearables
IBM HorizonWatch 2016 Trend Brief – External Version
Bill Chamberlin, Principal Client Research Analyst / IBM HorizonWatch Community Leader
May 9, 2016

About This HorizonWatch Emerging Trend Brief
2 Enterprise Wearables: HorizonWatch Emerging Trend Brief (External version)10May2016
 Purpose: The slides provide a quick overview of the Enterprise Wearables trend.
The slides provide summary information, a list of trends to watch and links to
additional resources
 How To Use This Report: Use these slides as a learning document and a
springboard to further research and reading on this trend. You may want to view the
slides in slideshow mode so you can easily follow the links
 Available on Slideshare: The latest version of this file (and other HorizonWatch
Trend Reports for 2016) will be available publically on Slideshare at
http://www.slideshare.net/horizonwatching
 Please Note: This report is based on internal IBM analysis and is not meant to be a
statement of direction by IBM nor is IBM committing to any particular technology or
solution.

Defining the Enterprise Wearables market
Definition:
Enterprise wearables are products such as smart
watches, wristbands, and glasses that can be used for
performing work activities in a professional
environment. The applications for enterprise wearables
differ from that of consumer wearables in that they are
used nearly exclusively for work related activities.
Drivers:
• Improved Devices (function, style)
• Emerging Smart Watch Platforms
• Desire to Improve Workflows and
Processes
• Intelligent Service Delivery
Inhibitors:
• Lengthened Market Development Phase
• Multiple Offerings / Platforms
• Lack of Application Use Cases
3
Enabling Technologies:
Enabling technologies involved in the enterprise
wearables market include the wearable technologies
themselves, including smart watches, wristbands,
eyeglasses, badges, lanyards, body-mounted displays,
hats, and other related technologies as well underlying
enabling platforms, including:
• Cloud applications
• Big data analytics
• Internet of Things
• Cognitive/Natural Language Processing
Enterprise Wearables: HorizonWatch Emerging Trend Brief (External version)10May2016
“Today, 68% of global technology and
business decision-makers say that
wearables are a priority for their firm,
with 51% calling it a moderate, high,
or critical priority.” Forrester

Enterprise Wearables: Trend Overview
 Key Insight: Wearables are coming to the enterprise.
 Wearable devices incorporate advanced electronic technologies, including sensors, wireless
communications, and computing capability normally found in smartphones. Fitness trackers are
exploding on the market and there is a whole new categories wearables that are being launched as
accessories to smartphones, including smartwatches and smartglasses. And there are also emerging
categories such as smartrings, wearable healthcare monitors, smartclothing, and heads-up displays.
And just like smartphones made their way into the enterprise, so will wearables.
 The big benefit of wearable computing devices is that they enable hands-free mobile real-time data
monitoring, analytics, and network communication. These potential benefits offer the opportunity for
enterprises to look for new ways of providing improved capabilities to aid in worker productivity.
 Wearable computing devices have potential benefits for any environment where information or
communication is desired, and the use of a hands-free interface is considered beneficial or essential.
Many enterprise workers could benefit from hands free computing and for that reason it is expected that
enterprises in verticals like defense, healthcare, manufacturing, construction, distribution, retail, and
smart cities will be the first to explore the potential of wearables for their workforce. As these devices
make their way into enterprises, new security and privacy issues will arise causing challenges for I.T.
Security professionals.
 The future of wearables looks bright and they have the potential for wide-ranging disruption and change
across multiple industries. That makes it an important trend to watch.

Enterprise Wearables – 9 trends to watch in 2016
1. Startups begin to focus on enterprise. Given the
value proposition offered by the enterprise, startups
will increasingly focus on adapting IP assets and
technology for enterprise use cases.
2. Pilots and test trials. Expect more industrial and
distribution companies to test the viability and
functionality of various wearable products in
applications like order picking and equipment
maintenance
3. Analytics, mobility and security will drive adoption
of wearables. These three components, when
established collectively, will be the key selling points
for enterprises adopting wearable technologies.
4. Analytics solutions. Wearables, when integrated
with analytic platforms, can serve as a key lever of
efficiency and valuable data capture.
5. Design thinking applied to enterprise wearables.
Developers focus on user requirements for
functionality, style and experience in order to weave
enterprise wearables into the DNA of an organization’s
operations.
“Wearables are just getting started within the
enterprise, but within a few short years, IT
managers will be faced with a myriad
challenges and opportunities.” IDC: IDC
FutureScape: Worldwide Wearables 2016 Predictions
“By 2018, two million employees will be
required to wear health and fitness tracking
devices as a condition of employment.” Gartner:
Gartner Reveals Top Predictions for IT Organizations and
Users for 2016 and Beyond
Tractica: Enterprise Wearables Market to
Reach $6.3 Billion by 2020

Enterprise Wearables – 9 trends to watch in 2016 (cont.)
6. Smart Glasses: A 2016 will be a year of increased
experimentation, especially in applications like field
service/maintenance, logistics, and manufacturing.
Also, as interest in augmented reality and virtual
reality picks up, smart glasses adoption will pick
up.
7. Smart Watches: Adoption will continue in 2016 as
employees and business figure out how to use
them for enterprise applications.
8. Setting the Enterprise Strategy Expect more IT
and Business leaders to be interested in developing
a wearable strategy for their company. It is critical
to understand the needs of individual employees,
what work activities they are responsible for and the
upstream / downstream business processes
impacted.
9. Security and Privacy: These two issues will
continue to be barriers to wearables adoption within
the enterprise.
6
“Wearables and augmented reality software
improve picking process by 25 percent.” DHL
“Gartner, Inc. forecasts that 274.6 million
wearable electronic devices will be sold
worldwide in 2016, an increase of 18.4
percent from 232.0 million units in 2015.”
Gartner: Gartner Says Worldwide Wearable Devices Sales to
Grow 18.4 Percent in 2016
“Early pilot programs have yielded strong
return on investment (ROI) in many cases,
which is driving greater interest in enterprise
adoption of wearables among industry leaders
and fast followers alike.” Tractica: Enterprise
Wearables Market to Reach $6.3 Billion by 2020
IBM: Wearables and IoT: Putting them to work
in business

Enterprise Wearables – Adoption Challenges
 Infrastructure and support readiness. Wearables in the
enterprise space require new or enhanced infrastructure
capabilities as well as increased skills & support, which
requires additional large-scale investments and creates risks,
particularly for select industries.
 Precision, durability and design impacts user experience.
Wearable devices such as smart watches and eyeglasses will
require precision, durability and design to achieve large scale
success at enterprise solutions. The ability to prove the
viability of these technologies in industrial settings may limit
the pace of near-term adoption.
 More proof points required. Financial investments in
wearable technology will pose a hurdle to enterprise adoption
in the near term, particularly because of the lack of key use
cases and customer references. Firms need a strong ROI
case to justify the investment in enterprise wearables as a
replacement or enhancement to existing technologies.
 Security concerns. Wearables offer a new potential
gateway into enterprise systems for the seasoned hacker.
The future explosion of wearables in the enterprise space is
causing security professionals to recommend enterprises
proceed with caution.
7
“Not a day goes by without news of
security breaches at the hands of
hackers. The truth is that without built-in
PIN protection or security fingerprinting,
just about anyone can access the
contents stored on a wearable.” IT
BusinessEdge
Tractica: Enterprise Wearables
Market to Reach $6.3 Billion by 2020
Silicon ANGLE: Before wearables
thrive in enterprise, consider these
cultural and security issues

Wearables – Additional Resources
 APX: The State of Enterprise Wearables
 ComputerWorld: Wearables in the enterprise? Yes, really!
 Dzone: 5 Ways Wearables are Improving Enterprise Operations
 eWeek: 10 Enterprise-Friendly Android Wear Apps for Those New
Wearables
 IBM: Wearables in the Enterprise
 IBM: Is there a future for wearables within the enterprise?
 IBM: Wearables and IoT: Putting them to work in business
 ITBusinessEdge: Studies Predict Large Growth of Enterprise
Wearables
 Readwrite: How Wearables Will Revolutionize The Workplace
 TechRepublic: Invisible revolution: How wearables are quietly
invading the enterprise
 Tractica: Enterprise Wearables Market to Reach $6.3 Billion by
2020 (press release)
 VMWare: 7 Productivity Tips for Using Your Apple Watch at Work
 ZDNet: Wearables for business: Is there an enterprise play
coming?
 TechTarget: Enterprise wearables suffer from a lack of apps
 Wearable Tech: Study: Enterprise Wearables Have a Bright Future
IBM: Is there a future for wearables
within the enterprise?
“Pioneering companies across a
number of industries have found that
wearables including smart watches,
fitness trackers, and smart glasses can
provide meaningful advantages in
terms of productivity, efficiency, and
cost savings.” Tractica
“Wearable technology is gaining
popularity at a rapid pace, and it has
gone beyond just connected eyewear
and smartwatches with new products
such as wrist bands, smart shoes,
smart apparels, and more.”
MarketsandMarkets

Enterprise Wearables: IBM HorizonWatch 2016 Trend Brief

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