Why Wearables Are Becoming A More Frequent Tool For Your Field Services IT Clients
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Wearables are a technology of the future across industries, from healthcare to manufacturing — and for businesses across the spectrum with field services. According to Berg Insight, a machine-to-machine (M2M)/ Internet of Things (IoT) market research firm, cited in a Field Technologies Online (FTO) article, the number of wearable devices shipped is expected to reach more than 168 million devices shipped by 2019. Berg Insight predicts Bluetooth will remain the most common connectivity option, but some 16.6 million of the wearables shipped in 2019 will offer cellular connectivity.
This is not only an issue to watch for in future years, it’s a trend beginning right now. Accenture reports field services companies are moving past the testing phase to adoption. “Connected workers are starting to use wearables to equip them with access to more data than ever before, so they can make quicker, smarter, and more proactive decisions, improving productivity and reducing costs for their businesses, while enhancing safety in the workplace,” Srini Ramadath, managing director for Accenture Digital-Mobility, told FTO. “Head-mounted displays, smartwatches, and other new devices will enable the presentation of data from previously ‘dumb’ devices, now enabled with sensors and connectivity.”
According to VDC Research’s report, The Global Market for Wearable Devices Supporting Line-of-Business Applications, real-time video and augmented reality capabilities are making wearables marketable for the enterprise market. Field Service Digital reports, both SAP and Salesforce.com are working to enable wearable apps. VDC cites the example of micro-turbine manufacturer JetHeat, which is using head-mounted devices both in the R&D department and to help field technicians facilitate maintenance and service operations. JetHeat is planning to incorporate wearables into its standing maintenance kit, “enabling the company to communicate and see challenges encountered by customers’ field technicians.”
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen an opportunity for wearable technology in field service to become a comfortable hardware form factor that workers will actually use,” says Aaron Salow, CEO of XOEye Technologies, in the FTO article. “We’ve seen hardware that has fit and function that makes sense for field service workers. We’ve also seen applications become robust in quality to provide value for the field service industry.”
One of the obstacles to adopting wearables has been the lack of functionality of wearables for specific tasks. Romulus Pereira, CEO of Vidcie, told Field Technologies Online that his company has seen a dismissal of consumer-oriented devices in the enterprise, while built-for-purpose devices have gained traction. “The striking, but not surprising, change we have observed is that more and more enterprise customers are choosing function over form,” Pereira says. “They do this by adding key capabilities in the form of apps and platforms to existing mobile devices, often foregoing pure wearability.”
VDC Research found that 27 percent of survey respondents in the field mobility space currently support wearables, while 19 percent plan to support wearables in the future.