Is IT Ready to Support Employees' Wearable Tech?

Are you prepared to provide more enterprise investment—and IT support—to boost wearable technology adoption among employees? That day may be coming soon, as many professionals feel their companies should pay for wearable gadgets such as smart watches and smart glasses, according to a recent survey from PwC. Why? Because survey respondents said these products should make them more productive and efficient, while providing a better level of customer service. There are, however, significant reservations among employees about wearable technology, especially with regard to privacy and security. And tech departments must ensure that the user experience is consistent as they switch from more traditional computing devices to wearable ones, especially when it comes to information management. "Inconsistency of data remains one of the top challenges for wearable technologies today," says Mike Pegler, principal of PwC US technology practice. "For wearables to be effective across both primary and secondary devices, there needs to be an established frequency of measurement. Enterprises must forge partnerships and develop IT and platform alliances to deliver seamless experiences on both the front end and back end of wearable implementations." More than 1,000 people took part in the research.