Wearables: threat or opportunity?

The use of wearables at work is booming. To the dismay of some. A Vanson Bourne study conducted on behalf of Trend Micro on 800 senior IT decision makers shows that 95% of wearables are considered a security risk. The trend is however unstoppable. What should you know? And how can you make the best of wearables in your business?

Smart watches

In recent years, manufacturers of all kinds have embarked in the design of smart watches, mainly based on the Android system. The Apple Watch then made its debut and performed better in a week during the presale phase than all other smart watches combined in one year. Apple is accelerating the trend and sets very high standards for smart watch manufacturers. Employees can now use their smart watches to check their professional emails. Additional protection is thus not a luxury.

Fitness trackers

Fitness trackers or activity trackers allow you to keep an eye on your health and your daily activities. The band records the number of steps, the number of calories burned, the heart rate or sleep rhythm. In the US, 10% of adults already have a fitness tracker. You know that the health of your employees is critical to your business. Accessing data from the employees' fitness trackers offers a different perspective on them: how often do your employees stand? Do they take the elevator or the stairs? To what extent are they stressed?

Smartglasses

Google Glass was not a huge success, and the company stopped selling experimental smartglasses at the beginning of this year. Behind the scenes, however, Google has been working hard on a new version. Smartglasses are clearly the most useful wearables for businesses. Machine operators or pickers in a warehouse can see information projected in the corner of their field of vision and give verbal commands. Result: they keep their hands completely free and boost their efficiency.