Take a look around and you’ll see a world that is rapidly changing. The workplace is quickly heading into an era where people and machines work and interact with each other seamlessly.
Meanwhile, enterprise mobility is changing too. The melding of mobility, the cloud and in-memory computing bring interconnectivity to a whole new level in the workplace. This is especially true as context-aware mobility becomes the information intersection where the physical and digital worlds meet and take advantage of the cloud and big data context awareness.
With this melding comes the rapid entry of wearables into the workplace, which is bringing even more simplicity and flexibility to businesses.
A fast growing trend in the enterprise
A recent Forrester report, The Enterprise Wearables Journey, says that “if you’re not thinking about how innovation in wearable computing will affect enterprises in 2015, you’re slipping into the minority.” The report also notes that wearable devices — and the apps, software, and services that make those wearables truly valuable — are changing the way workers do their jobs and how consumers manage their lives.
A report from 451 Enterprise Mobility talks about the growing trends of wearables and smart watch applications in the workplace. The report states that 63% of US IT decision-makers at companies that use or plan to use wearable technologies will deploy solutions in the next 6-12 months. Of those planning to deploy wearables in the next six months, 81% of them say their company will favour smart watches.
Using smart watches everywhere and anywhere
With the increasing trends of connected wearable devices in the enterprise, more companies are building mobile apps to simplify contextual data, turn insight into action, and allow people to work from anywhere. While the amount of complex data collected by these devices is staggering, making sense of this data opens up new frontiers all across the enterprise. Mobile apps on wearables are helping employees get things done everywhere and anywhere in the workplace, from a sales call to the warehouse.
The implications for workers in industries like healthcare, oil and gas, and transportation are enormous. Imagine high-risk field maintenance workers updating their tasks in real time using their voices, while at the same, their biometrics are monitored for safety. With wearables properly combined with analytics and data, lives can be saved and businesses can produce like never before.
Recently, SAP premiered various mobile apps that are available on the Apple Watch. The wide array of announced apps included everything from instant messaging and workflow to customer relationship management, health monitoring and analytical insights. Each and everyone one of them is a powerful example of how enterprise software on a device can simplify businesses and keep them moving forward.
The key to success with enterprise wearables
According to Rick Costanzo, executive vice president and general manager of telco and mobile solutions at SAP, success for wearables in the enterprise requires a combination of several elements. The apps on wearables must provide information that is valuable in a contextual and personalised manner – and it needs to be delivered to the correct screen size with actions that are easy to use. But most importantly, according to Costanzo, apps on wearables must also people to engage easily and take immediate action.
The bottom line with wearables is that the most important information should be pushed forward – and be adjustable to various screen sizes and device features. This is how wearables can win in the workplace.
To see how mobile apps from SAP on wearables can help increase close rates for sales people, watch this video.
Are you ready to start your enterprise mobile journey? Don’t delay, get started today.
Amisha Gandhi is senior director, mobile marketing at SAP. Find her on Twitter@amishagandhi
This advertisement feature is brought to you by SAP, sponsors of the Guardian Media Network’s Next-gen tech hub
