Who doesn’t have some kind of wearable device these days?

The market has grown significantly over the past few years with Gartner estimating by 2021, sales of smartwatches will total nearly 81M units — representing 16% of total wearable device sales, according to its forecast (Techcrunch, 2017) This advancement in technology is great but what effect will this have on businesses?

So far, it’s all positive! Research shows the addition of a wearable device can;

  • Increase productivity
  • Save time for teams by allowing them to send, receive and respond to messages instantly
  • Control PowerPoint presentations
  • Make speedy payments
  • Connect teams
  • Opens new business opportunities
  • Wearable cameras and smart glasses allow technicians to look up schematics or contact more knowledgeable support.

Bespoke software and the potential benefits with wearable technology.

Creating custom software to work alongside wearable technology is entirely possible and can enhance your business needs. There is the opportunity to enhance and speed up business processes and motivate employees on a whole new level. It is possible to create bespoke applications for almost any business process from document approval, transactions, stock control to data collection and safety during any physical activity. Processes can be made hands-free with data available at a glance and conveniently shareable with teams.

As an example a well known super market saw great success using armbands with custom tracking technology allowing employees to track a huge number of goods over vast aisles of shelving. This solution saved the employee carrying a clipboard and manually marking sheets which would have been a long, time consuming process. This technology allowed the business to be come better connected and way more efficient.

As well as business benefits there are significant health benefits that come with wearable devices, businesses can create wellness programs for staff depending on their role within the organisation. This is important for employees who spend many hours of the day sat in front of their computers and who forget to move their bodies! As well as movement these devices encourage people to take 3 – 5 minutes to take time to do some deep breathing and reduce stress levels. These devices can save businesses time and money by keeping employees happy and healthy.

Wearable tech can also help prevent accidents for truck and delivery drivers – a new smart cap has been created that looks like a baseball cap but has the capability to detect alertness in the driver – the cap can give the driver a warning signal when they are close to ‘microsleep’ these waning signals help fatigue-related accidents.

So, wearable technology has the ability and potential to boost almost any industry with the right development and creativity, opportunities for this software development are endless.