Is The Wearable Device Trend Here To Stay?

By Brian Albright, Field Technologies magazine

Smart glasses, smart watches, and other wearable devices could provide the next wave of efficiency for enterprise mobile computing.

Wearable computing technology has been around for decades, but with the introduction of high-profile consumer devices like Google Glass and smart watches, wearables may finally be poised for wider adoption. According to a recent report from IDC (“Worldwide Wearable Computing Device 2014-2018 Forecast and Analysis”), the volume of wearables exceeded 19 million units in 2014, triple the previous year’s sales. The global market is expected to reach 111.9 million units in 2018, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 78.4 percent.

“Deskless workers have the most to gain from wearable technology because they are away from sources of real-time data,” says Brent Blum, wearable technology practice lead at Accenture Technology Labs. “Wearable technology enables them to access real-time information in a hands-free way, without having to stop what they’re doing and log in to a more traditional computing source like a smartphone, tablet, or computer.”