Four Uses for Wearable Enterprise Mobile Apps

Wearables have yet to take off in a big way, but that doesn’t mean enterprises can brush them off. In a true BYOD strategy, you need to accommodate all devices that employees will want to use to enhance their productivity and this includes wearables. While you may not be convinced just yet, there are a few types of enterprise apps that are extremely useful and may convince you that wearable enterprise apps are worth investing in and encourage some employees to take advantage of wearable tech.

An article by Quinton Wall for InfoWorld recently outlined some of the different wearable app categories and how each of them benefits the enterprise environment:

Interacting with the office environment– This one may be a bit ahead of the curve, but the time when controlling the environment around you with a wearable is closer than you may realize. People can do it now, but it’s not common practice for the average employee today. Not only would you be able to control lights, monitors, temperature and blinds, you could also control things like speaker phones. The app would be able to keep track of the entire building, making scheduling meetings simple by being able to see which rooms are currently available and let you know what equipment  would be required for the meeting. It could also serve well for letting you know when visitors arrive so you can meet them in a timely manner.

Notifications– This feature can be especially helpful for people who move around the office a lot or have or work in places like warehouses or labs. Not only would they be more reachable throughout the day, but the apps could also be set up to time certain projects, let you know if someone is trying to reach you, alert you to an emergency. immediately being able to communicate with your staff and give instruction on how to deal with an emergency from your wearable could lower risks and significantly increase safety in industries where health and safety protocols are more serious.

Hands free– building a secure, hands-free wearable app is not only safe for employees who drive or operate machinery, but it can lead to more productivity by giving employees an easy way to set reminders for tasks and “jot” down valuable ideas that otherwise may have been lost. Gesture based devices would also benefit a corporate environment especially when it comes to presentations.

Training and development– Employees who are just starting out can be presented with a wearable to streamline the training process. Instead of having to tag along with a superior for a week to be sure they have a handle on everything, they can be shown the ropes and interact with management via a wearable. Management will know where the employee is and the employee can communicate with their wearable if they have any questions. Wearables will also be used in place of screen sharing and other presentation tools, so things can be shown and shared without disrupting everyday work flow.