Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise

Transcription

1 March 2015 Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise This white paper discusses the considerations for utilising wearable technology in a business environment, outlining the challenges and opportunities. 1

2 Contents Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 3 Introduction 3 Industry-specific drivers 4 Challenges 5 Developer challenges 5 Wearables or apps (chicken or egg)? 6 Screen size 7 Create a new app or extend existing? 7 Health and safety 8 Change management 8 Data challenges 9 Security challenges 9 Employees reactions 10 Benefits for the enterprise 12 Impact of wearables 12 The role of beacons with wearables 13 Conclusion 14 Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise

3 Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise Introduction With increasing demand to have information delivered in realtime, using an always-on connection, it s no wonder industries are seeking out more innovative ways to access this data. Wearables present that opportunity. The evolution of wearables is being driven by the desire to develop advantages to improve access to information, process efficiencies and deliver value to the organisation through increased engagement. If one company is using such devices to improve ROI, it s likely other organisations will be motivated to do the same, in order to remain competitive. The Internet of Things (IoT) also plays a large part in driving forward the use of wearables, both at home and for the enterprise. With the ability to control everything in the home and office using a single device, wearables present the perfect opportunity because they are potentially always on your body. Just as smartphones helped to bring down the price of mobilising business operations for thousands of businesses, there is potential for wearables to have an impact. The opportunities that wearables present are driven largely by the apps that companies use or have created for them, helping to further extend the usability and efficiency drivers. Evolution of mobile tools Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 3

4 Industry-specific drivers Across a wide range of industries, technology provides the ability to do things more efficiently. Engineering, logistics and manufacturing are just some examples where mobility has delivered a large amount of value and competitive advantage for a number of years. For any job where both hands are needed to carry out most tasks, wearables allow operatives to view information without technology getting in the way. This enables hands-free working for fixing equipment, packing boxes onto a lorry or operating machinery. Context awareness As is found in mobile, one of the key drivers for the adoption of this technology will be centred around further improving operations or engagement. In many cases, all companies will need to do is extend current apps to work with wearables. As with smartphones, much of the demand for supporting wearables in office environments will come from employees, whilst field workers will likely be provided with the devices by the organisation. Glanceable information Many industries, especially those in the medical sector require access to real-time data while carrying out day-to day tasks. For example, a surgeon may need to see patient information while operating on them. Provide the right tools Wearables provide glanceable data on a screen, in front of the user s eyes or on their wrist, making this information instantly accessible. For this precision based work, wearables also allow the user to drill down into detail, zooming in-and-out of a real-time view. For example, no longer do those operating on patients need to refer to screens that could prove to be unhygienic, or waste time finding out further details on the patients condition. Ease of navigation For industries where hazardous materials are commonplace, such as on oil rigs or in chemical manufacturing, wearables allow operatives to carry out their jobs safely, without the risk of interference. Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 4

5 Challenges Before wearables can truly take off across sectors, a number of challenges need to be dealt with, especially when it comes to employee and employer perceptions. Additionally, from a technical perspective, frameworks and technical infrastructure, such as APIs, may be required to make them useful. Developer challenges At the moment, wearables are still largely unproven in the marketplace. For success, they require developers to create solutions that demonstrate value to users. For business use cases, proof of success will come from showing how ROI can be achieved, as well as establishing other metrics for success. This will likely come from apps that utilise wearables to drive value to both the end user and the business as a whole. This could be from reducing the steps it takes to complete tasks, or from providing employees with the information and tools they need. It could be something as simple as providing employees with information, in context to what they are doing. For example, it could be a CRM related app that will alert a sales member if one of their contacts is nearby, their name and the last topic they discussed. This could integrate with a backend system to make physical interactions smarter, without the need to look at a mobile or tablet. For companies who have already created APIs and web services that speak to existing apps, it should be relatively easy to extend functionality to wearables. This is largely because data will already be flowing to a mobile app, so the development work only needs to focus on extending it to the wearable. Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 5

6 Apple, Samsung and Google have all launched developer kits, aimed at making it easier to extend apps to their wearable devices. Due to the nuances of the new devices, such as the small screen sizes and unique input methods, this takes time to perfect. One advantage is that these companies have already showcased how apps can make use of the devices, to enhance the user experience and journey. In the case of the enterprise, there will be some apps, such as time-sheets, mail or calendar, that are standard across industries for daily activity and workflows. However, for operational use cases, that deliver unique value to companies, it is bespoke apps that need to be created or enhanced, to interact with wearables around specific use cases. For example, a logistics app will need to be linked to your orders database and include blueprints of the warehouse floor. This would enable pickers and packers to find orders and navigate to the specific part of the warehouse. Within this activity, there may also be processes that will be unique to the company, that a third party app may not be able to provide. From the perspective of a wearable, it will be key to know how best to present this information, in a way that makes a meaningful improvement to operations. Wearables or apps (chicken or egg)? It s widely agreed that apps will be one of the features that make wearables compelling for users. There is currently a chicken or egg scenario with wearables - will they take off because of the hardware, or because of killer apps that make them appeal to more consumers? At the moment, with Android Wear, there are a few thousand apps available which are either designed specifically for Android Wear devices, or are extensions to existing apps. Since launching in the summer of 2014, 720,000 Android Wear devices have been sold worldwide, indicating that mass adoption hasn t yet been reached. One of the reasons for this may be that they are a smartphone accessory, which won t appeal to all users. Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 6

7 Screen size The majority of people feel that they need a smartphone as it provides them with a communication device, portable computer, media hub and camera (to name but a few of the reasons for owning one). As the current trend with smartphones shows, the bigger the screen, the better. Ironically, it is the increased screen sizes which have created the opportunity for wearables. In many cases, this is because devices have become less conspicuous and unwieldy to use one handed when walking or moving. Design for brief interactions Understanding the screen size and how best to present information on the screen is a key challenge for developers and companies. When extending apps to wearables, it s important to understand what functionality will matter most to users for brief interactions on a small screen. Unlike a smartphone or tablet, a wearable isn t something that can be easily shared, meaning that anything that gets displayed has to be relevant to the owner. Many of the enterprise apps that have been developed for wearables so far, have focused on this hyper-personal element. Create a new app or extend existing? Within the frameworks for Android Wear and Apple Watch, both companies have sought to make it easy for developers to extend existing apps to communicate with paired wearable devices. The same is true for platforms available for devices like Pebble, which aim to make it easy for developers to tap into their capabilities. Developers and companies may seek to create new apps, designed around processes or use cases that are unique to wearable devices. A decision will need to be made on whether a strategy needs to be created around the use case, or whether they take existing apps and extend functionality to wearables. Extend existing apps With enterprise apps focused around engineering or maintenance, extending existing apps may make a lot of sense, as they can provide the right information to employees when they need it. Wearables could also be used to show process flows, ensuring that employees follow the right procedure and confirm that they have followed it, helping to create an electronic trail, should it be needed from a legal standpoint. Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 7

8 Health and safety From a health and safety perspective, employers may be concerned that a headset or glasses will get in the way of the user s line of sight, with the eyepiece obstructing one eye. On the flip side, although many of the Google Glass style devices are light, they also do not cover the whole of the eye, like safety goggles, meaning you may need to customise the casing to ensure they are aligned with health and safety policies. For many job roles, such as field engineers or construction workers, apps can push health and safety notifications to wearable devices. For certain sectors or jobs, consumer grade wearables will be unsuited to the unique challenges and environments the technology would be used in. For these industries or roles, we are seeing a number of specialist wearables being created for use. Examples include both Sony Smarteyeglass and Microsoft Hololens that could be customised for enterprise scenarios. No matter the device, it will be important for companies to consider how wearables will help with health and safety procedures. Primarily, this would be done via an app that recognises when employees are in areas where health and safety information needs to be shown, to ensure that, if an accident happens, the company can be sure employees were aware of the dangers. Change management One of the biggest obstacles to wearables in enterprise will be ensuring that devices, or app data can be managed. Current wearables may not add extra strain on existing networks, as they pair with a smartphone and use its data. However, if wearables are being used to generate data, this could see another rise in the amount of data coming into an organisation, or being stored in the cloud. Integration The biggest change would come from the perspective of what happens with apps that may be used in the business. Companies will need to understand when third-party apps get extended to wearables and what that means from a security perspective. For custom apps, it may be an in-house IT team or an outsourced app developer that would handle the change management. Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 8

9 Data challenges Whether you need to set up a new server to process the data, or boost an existing cloud solution, the data will need to be hosted somewhere. When Intel built its solution to analyse Parkinson s disease symptoms, each patient generated 1GB data per day, 1 which was hosted on the company s Cloudera network. If you are monitoring hundreds of employees, this may generate a huge amount of data per day from your whole workforce, which will put a strain on any infrastructure. Security challenges Devices like Google Glass, HoloLens or smartwatches which feature built in cameras, may need to be managed by the IT departments to ensure they fit with company policies. Similarly, wearables that feature built in microphones would also need to be taken into consideration. As with many highly sensitive areas, it may be that IT enforces any wearable to be under the corporate Mobile Device Management scheme to add control over device hardware, or prevented from entering sensitive areas. In addition, data that makes its way onto wearables must be secured, on your servers and in between. If an app is used to control the wearable, or to process the data before its sent to a server, it will all need to be secured against the threat of hackers. Data integration A big concern in the enterprise space is the security of new devices being introduced to the workplace, particularly if they can store sensitive information about the business. Although for most wearables, the smartphone is the host device meaning a higherlevel of security should be present, there are some devices, such as LG s Watch Urbane LTE, that don't need a smartphone in order to operate. However, the majority of wearables require a smartphone to be paired for connectivity.. This means there s already a security protocol to help alleviate some concerns; the wearable cannot be used without its host. In addition, the wearable can be used as a second or even third-factor authentication device, disabling 1 Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 9

10 anyone else from using them if, for example, they fall into the wrong hands. Processes for securing wearable and their host device include using two-factor authentication, where the wearable needs to be paired to operate. The authentication token on the smartphone must match the token on the smartwatch, otherwise they are unable to connect. Although two-factor authentication is pretty commonplace, thirdfactor authentication is something that will become more important as wearables become smarter. Opportunities lie in biometrics, meaning you could activate the device using a fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor or for eyewear, retina scans. Goode Intelligence 2 believes that wearables will prove to be revolutionary for the authentication and security industry. In a report, the company explained: We are very much at the beginning of another transformational aspect of authentication the use of wearable technology for authentication purposes. In particular, leveraging the next wave of biometric technology to create seamless, continuous, authentication. What will be truly transformational about the use of biometrics on wearable devices, is the birth of the universal authenticator a device that intuitively knows who we are, where we are, what we want to do and can open doors both physical and virtual. Indeed, this is how Apple Pay will work on Apple Watch. The user has to use their passcode or TouchID on their phone when putting on the Watch to authenticate it. If the Watch is taken off and loses contact with the wearers skin, the Watch will cease to work with Apple Pay. Employees reactions If you are introducing a wearables policy in your workplace, you'll probably find employees will have mixed reactions and it's important to address any concerns they may have as quickly as possible. 2 Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 10

11 Those who embrace technology are likely to be excited about using wearables and may appreciate the benefits of such equipment more readily. For that group, the results of using wearables will be clearer, with employees working more efficiently as a result of the ease of access to information. On the other side of the fence sit the people who are more resistant to change, especially if they are unsure how to use the technology and need to undergo additional training to use the equipment effectively. The biggest concerns are likely to be about privacy, as the company has more access to employee actions and can track exactly what they're doing, where they are and when productivity reduces. Additionally, they may have concerns that the equipment will be bulky and will hinder their work performance. So making sure you test out the equipment, using employee trials to ensure they are still able to carry out their job safely and comfortably, will be important. It's important to ensure the benefits of using wearables are communicated to employees, reassuring those likely to be resistant to using them that it's about helping them become more efficient, rather than replacing them with technology. Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 11

12 Benefits for the enterprise Although the challenges of implementing wearables may make you think adoption in your company is a mammoth task, the benefits of implementing such an ecosystem usually outweigh the potential pain points. It s important to involve users, roll out the technology slowly and grow this initial base as you receive feedback from the trial group. Those who have implemented wearables in the workplace have reported a huge uplift in productivity and job satisfaction. Research by Goldsmiths, at the University of London in partnership with Rackspace, showed productivity increased by 8.5 per cent, as well as job satisfaction levels, by an average of 3.5 per cent, across 85 companies using wearables % increase in productivity When it comes to tracking technologies, always-on wearables allow you to track more precisely where employees, patients or customers are and this can be shared quickly with those who need to analyse it, in real time. For example, if something unexpected happens, such as a patient s wearable records a dangerous change, an alert can be sent out and assistance can be provided faster than before. Impact of wearables Aside from obvious benefits, wearables can impact the wider company in a variety of ways. As previously mentioned, the data you will collect as a result of introducing wearables is likely to increase and as such, you may need to invest in a new storage solution. Consider a scalable option, preferably utilising the cloud to ensure you will have 3 Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 12

13 enough capacity for now and the future. Additionally, your IT infrastructure may need adapting, whether you require more network capacity to account for the extra data exchange. You will need to ensure you have a solid software and app development strategy in place. It will be important, as part of this, to understand whether development can be handled in-house, or whether it needs to be outsourced to a company that specialises in wearable development. Be prepared to tweak your policies too, whether that's internally or externally. For example, when Google Glass was in its Explorer programme, many companies, such as cafes, banned their use to protect other customers. Internally, companies may also want to assess which type of wearable devices they allow, or govern how they are used. The role of beacons with wearables BLE Beacon technology, that provides physical objects a presence and connects the digital and physical world, is already being used to provide users with more relevance, based on where they are. When applied to wearables, beacons offer the chance to improve the experience, by bringing up the right tool, at the right time. With the reduced screen size, one of the major challenges of wearables is around how to navigate to what a user needs at a given time. Beacons help to solve this by telling the wearable, or paired smartphone, what that user likely needs. An example of this in action is an engineer approaching an asset and the wearable knowing that it needs to bring up the right information about the asset, without the user manually navigating to it. This would then bring up the right process flow or data that helps that engineer to do their job, without having to get a phone or tablet out. Beacons & wearables Beacons and wearables are all part of the growing world of The Internet of Things, where objects and devices are able to communicate with each other. Where apps on mobile phones have been moving towards a way of controlling an environment, wearables take that one step further by removing the need to hold a device. Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 13

14 Conclusion As this white paper has demonstrated, there are many areas that companies and developers will need to think about when approaching wearables. As it currently stands, wearables are yet to become a mass market product. Yet, companies who have already started to test what is possible, are reaping the benefits of being ahead of competitors and being seen as innovative. As the popularity and adoption of wearables increases over the coming few years, companies need to understand the opportunities and assess the challenges of wearables as they will be brought into the enterprise space. Unlike tablets or smartphones that would sit in a pocket or bag, wearables are devices that are more personal and intimate than any other previous technology - they will be worn, after all. The case for utilising wearables won t be there for every company. However, when it becomes important for employees to be hands free or to have quick and easy access to information, it will be easy to build a case for investing in wearables. Companies who have already focused on building APIs or creating apps, based around employee efficiency, process improvement, customer engagement or channel management will find that they can move quickly with adapting to wearable devices. Should wearables take off, in the way technology companies and analysts expect them to, it will be important for companies to take them into consideration when creating or evolving their mobile strategies. This is still seen as a future technology, but it is a future technology that is getting increasingly close to moving towards mass adoption. The opportunity is there to future proof your company and be where technology is moving, driving new opportunities and improvements. As happened with the early days of apps, the companies who invest early have the opportunity to capture attention, before competitors. To view other white papers that discuss topics including strategy, opportunities for wearables in enterprise or how to approach mobile security please visit Considerations for Wearables in Enterprise 14

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