Introduction
Wearable technologies are in the gold rush phase of their evolution. All of the leading technology developers have (or are actively developing) watches and other wearable devices that extend and expand the capabilities of the smartphone and tablet.
Google Glass was first to ignite this new category of technology, but all eyes have been on Apple and how they view wearable devices. Following the unveiling of the Apple Watch in September, small business owners gained a somewhat clearer view of this sector. The question facing small business owners now is how they can leverage these platforms to support their enterprise's products and services.
Opportunity knocks
Adam Spearing, VP Platform EMEA, salesforce.com, says: "We've always believed that small businesses are in the best position to adopt new technologies and ways of working, especially compared to larger rivals – and this remains true in the case of wearable technology. The wearable revolution gives small businesses the opportunity to differentiate themselves against their competitors through tremendous innovation and high quality of service."
For businesses wearable technology could have a profound impact. The use of hands-free, heads-up displays is a powerful paradigm that every business could potentially exploit. Like the smartphone and tablet that have delivered new channels for all businesses to leverage, wearables offer a level of personal connectivity that has not existed before.
And when this technology is coupled with the Internet of Things (IoT), the possibilities become endless. In addition, there is a clear financial driver here with Gartner predicting the global market for wearables will reach $5 billion (around £3.2 billion, AU$5.9 billion) by 2016 – and IHS has predicted that by 2018, there will be 180 million wearable devices sold. This is a massive market your small business can support today.
Cultural shift
"One of the interesting things that came from this research – perhaps that we weren't expecting – is that chatter about wearable tech is no longer confined to the water cooler in the engineering department," said Natalie Meehan, Marketing Insights Analyst, Brandwatch.
"Discussion about wearables has become far more commonplace in mainstream society, and we're seeing more types of people talking about it, and in more kinds of places. Just like with smartphones or tablets almost a decade ago, we're on the cusp of a cultural shift that reflects our changing attitudes towards how we live with technology."
Research carried out by Brandwatch and Brilliant Noise concluded:
Year-on-year the conversation around wearables has exploded – increasing a staggering 190% when you compare the first quarter of last year (973,300 mentions) to that of this year (2,816,814 mentions).
Interestingly, the most negativity came not from those who were sceptical about the technology, but from those who actually owned it (51% of negative chat was from owners) – hinting that the reality might not be living up to the hype.
Wearables still seem to be struggling to find real purchase outside of the US – the US market accounts for well over half (70%) of the conversation about the technology, followed by the UK (7%), Canada (3%), Australia (2%) and India (2%).
A new brand battleground: Google Glass, Fitbit and Pebble emerged as the top three products mentioned by volume in the US, while in the UK the rankings saw Fitbit at the top, followed by Nike Fuelband and Google Glass.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the technology's association with sports and technology, male authors led the conversation (65% versus 35%) – however female authors are 42% more positive than men when discussing ownership of wearables.
Disruptive technology
In its Tech Trends 2014 report Deloitte states: "The primary goal of wearables is to enable users to take real-world actions by providing relevant, contextual information precisely at the point of decision-making. Wearables shine in scenarios where using a laptop, phone, tablet, or other conventional device may not be appropriate as well as in making use of the data gathered by sensors."
Already existing service providers such as Salesforce have wearables development packs that link the leading wearable technologies to its CRM platform. Expect to see more of this type of development, as wearables expand in the marketplace.
What wearables mean to you
As a small business owner now is the time to consider how wearable technologies could be leveraged by your enterprise. Follow these steps to help you evaluate what wearables mean to your business:
1. Evaluate your business' products, services and business processes
Wearables are not just about developing new applications and services. Many businesses will also benefit by using wearables to increase the efficiency of their internal processes. Of course extending your enterprises services and so forth to wearables should also be considered. Would your customers want this kind of service or delivery mechanism?
2. Test the wearables ecosystem
It is very early days for all the wearable technologies that have appeared on the market so far. Small businesses are in a superb position to evaluate each platform and relate these to their stated business goals. Also, wearables are modular systems making them ideal to build highly specific customer-orientated services and products.
3. Start now!
All of the leading developers of wearables have development platforms that any business can use now. Testing these systems will allow your business to see if they can offer any tangible benefits to your company or customers.
4. Consumer behaviour
The wearable technologies that have appeared so far require a new way of communicating. The 'glance' means information must be delivered with new user interfaces. Small businesses have the agility to test new interfaces to find the right one for their products or services.
5. BYOD extends to wearables
The shift to BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has transformed smaller enterprises in particular. BYOW (Bring Your Own Wearable) is clearly how this phenomenon will develop. Your business needs to pay attention to this evolution to ensure it can be fully leveraged within a secure working environment.
Major impact
What is clear is that wearables have the potential to have a massive impact on not only how businesses deliver goods and services, but also how they operate. Small business owners need to consider all these aspects to ensure they don't miss out on the opportunities that wearables offer.
Nigel Beighton, UK CTO of Rackspace, said: "Many wearable technologies are focused on improving some aspect of an individual's life – whether that's health and fitness, focus and concentration, productivity or job satisfaction. The big step change for both individuals and businesses is being able to analyse the raw data and understand the wider context surrounding the data, such as the weather location, posture, even temperature and mood of the individual.
"By focusing on the data as well as the devices, wearable technologies can provide meaningful insights that can be used to improve performance and satisfaction. Essentially wearable tech and big data go hand-in-hand."
Business applications
To gain an insight into how wearables could impact on small business, TechRadar Pro spoke with Neil Pickering, Director at Kronos. We began by asking whether there is a legitimate business case for wearables at the moment?
"Wearable technology provides a simple – and effective – way to help businesses manage their workforce more effectively. Unlike the consumer world, wearable technology for businesses is not about fashion, but function. It's about extracting information from employees, or devices, with minimal, or ideally, no impact on their working behaviour. Currently most organisations are just starting to learn about wearable technology or to think of it as a workplace tool, but its potential within the organisation is huge."
Are there any opportunities with wearable technologies that small businesses can take advantage of?
"Wearable technology can provide managers with a clear understanding of what their staff are doing at any time throughout the day, with minimal effort," Neil said. "As a result, SMBs can benefit from reduced costs, increased efficiencies and a more nimble, productive workforce of employees better able to deliver superior goods and services.
"For example, manufacturing employees could wear a smart wristband that communicates their location on the floor at all times. This could combine the location-tracking functionality with data associated with traditional manufacturing punches to provide managers with instant information about the employee's work. For instance, what are they working on? Are there productivity issues? Are they falling behind? Armed with this information, supervisors can react in real-time to potential issues and optimise business outcomes."
What advice would Neil give to a small business owner who was looking closely at what wearable technologies could offer them?
"Getting employees to use wearable devices could be perceived as an attempt to monitor them or intrude on their privacy, so it's important that privacy and security are included as part of the initial discussions around wearable tech. Businesses need to have an honest discussion with employees explaining what the data needs to be used for, and ensure barriers are built in to separate work and home lives.
"In these discussions it's vital that organisations explain what the employee gets out of it. It's easy to believe that people won't like it – that such systems act as 'big brother'. But in reality nothing could be further from the truth. Most workers are comfortable with the notion of being monitored, as long as the reasons for doing so, and the benefits to the business and employees, have been clearly discussed and explained."
How does he see wearable technologies developing over the next few years? Will more small business opportunities emerge?
"For the most part, wearable technology is still in the trial or concept phase," Neil concluded. "But as connectivity continues to improve, the technology is only going to get better and more prevalent in the months and years ahead. In order to take full advantage of what this new technology has to offer, SMBs should start putting in place plans now, or they'll only find themselves behind those organisations that do."
Time for wearables
The time is now when it comes to wearables. "It is time to get started now to get in on the gold rush," said Ennio Carboni, Executive Vice President, Customer Solutions, Ipswitch. "The wearable market is in its infancy, but it will grow very rapidly. For example, market research conducted by Canalys has estimated that 17 million wearable bands will be shipped this year alone.
"Consumer applications such as wearable cameras, activity trackers, smart clothing, smart glasses and smartwatches are set to explode on to the market and consumers are hungry for them. Small businesses are missing a huge opportunity to innovate and get ahead. Already, powerful apps are being created that improve business operations and enhance customer experience."
Dan Todaro, MD at Gekko, concluded: "We will laugh at this discussion sooner than you think as wearables become literally the fabric of our life within the decade. In ten years' time we'll start to look at tablets the way we look at desktop computers now. Clunky, archaic and heavy.
"The opportunities are already there for small businesses and can only grow. The important thing is to make sure small businesses aren't waiting for someone to come along and tell them precisely how wearable tech can enhance their business. It's up to businesses to be innovative."