Smartphones were around for many years before Apple came onto the scene and exploded the market with its first release of the iPhone (News - Alert). Likewise, wearable tech has been around for years without much mass fanfare.
The wearable tech market is gaining speed, however, with Google Glass and the new smart watches that Samsung (News - Alert) is now hawking. And let us not forget—Apple has not yet entered the space, although rumors of an Apple watch have swirled for more than a year. Just as Apple (News - Alert) made MP3 players and smartphones mainstream, the release of an Apple smart watch could make wearable tech the next big thing.
But do we need smart watches?
I admit that at first I was skeptical, even though I’m a geek who loves new tech toys. What does a smart watch really do that I can’t already get from my iPhone?
Plenty, apparently. A recent post on the MaaS360 blog defines three areas where smart watches really make sense.
First, wearable tech such as smart watches can provide rapid access to information on the go. We already can get just about any information from our smartphone, but with a smart watch we can have essential information available immediately. Yes, maybe we don’t need the latest email on our wrists, but disaster relief or mission-critical timely data can be much more useful if it is available at the turn of a wrist.
Second, wearable tech can be useful for technicians that need information at their fingertips. Plenty of iPads are used for relaying schematics, but wearable technology can help with troubleshooting and manufacturing lines where precise hand-eye movement is needed.
Third, let us not forget that wearable tech can include the sensors and cameras that currently exist on our smartphones. This can make wearable tech good for capturing analytic and real-time data. It also can be used to display vital data, such as in the case of healthcare monitoring.
Perhaps the biggest reason for wearable tech is the one that hasn’t been invented yet, however. As with smartphones, we won’t know the true value of wearable tech until app developers get their hands on the tools and come up with new uses.
What does all this mean for BYOD programs and the enterprise?
Well, it means more of the same. The fundamental issues are similar between wearable tech and smartphones; both can be useful but also dangerous when it comes to security.
As with smartphones, businesses need to take an accommodating but thoughtful approach to corralling these new devices and ensuring that, however they are used, they are not exposing sensitive data.
Edited by Blaise McNamee