Wearables adoption will triple by 2017, demonstrating a strategic significance to the enterprise with smartwatches at the forefront of adoption.
79% of adopters agreed that wearables are or will be strategic to their company’s future success, while 75% reported improvements in business performance since deploying wearables in the enterprise, a study revealed.
During the course of the next year, 86% of respondents admitted they will ramp up their wearables spend.
The report also said smartwatches are at the front of the wearables market with 62% wearing, piloting or planning to use a smartwatch in the enterprise in the next two years.
Digital lanyards and smart glasses ranked second and third for their expected impact on the enterprise.
Data produced by wearable tech will help businesses make informed decisions in real time, despite only 8% of respondents saying that they felt completely ready to gain actionable insights from the volume of employee and customer data generated.
Those surveyed (30%) also mentioned the lack of business applications as a primary challenge in deploying wearables.
Meanwhile, 54% of companies were found to have a Bring-YourOwn-Wearables policy in place, with a further 40% planning on deploying schemes in the future.
Lindsey Irvine, Global Director of Strategic Partnerships, Salesforce said: "Wearables are the next phase of the mobile revolution. Like smartphones before them, the key to success for wearables in the enterprise is all about the killer business apps.
"This research demonstrates the tremendous opportunity for wearable use cases to drive significant business value."
The study "Putting Wearables to Work: Insights on Wearable Technology in Business" was conducted between 27th February and 1st March this year and included more than 500 wearable tech adopters across a range of company sizes.