Wearable tech is all the rage these days, with much of the talk about these devices centring on their use as entertainment and lifestyle aids. But there are many exciting potential use cases for wearable technologies in the enterprise as well – so exciting in fact, that some observers are saying that enterprise adoption is all but inevitable, and will usher in a new era of “Bring your own wearable device,” or “BYOWD”, that’ll only accelerate as these devices become more widespread.

Devices such as Google Glass, Pebble, Fitbit Flex and the rumored Apple iWatch are gadgets that clip around your wrist or your clothes or else mimic a pair of glasses. Smaller than smartphones, they offer even more in terms of portability, mobility and ease-of-use, but because this tech is so new, its usefulness in the enterprise is a matter of some debate. Even so, wearable tech has one thing going for it that will guarantee its adoption by the workforce – for above all else, these devices are “cool,” and that alone will see millions of them being sold.

At least, that’s the opinion of Chris Fleck, Citrix VP of Mobility Solutions, who told SiliconANGLE that wearable technologies are set to transform BYOD in the enterprise in the next couple of years, bringing massive implications for IT organizations.

“Early adopters will buy “wearables” on their own, then expect to be able to bring them/use them for work,” said Fleck.

Workers won’t want to use company issued devices, mainly because a lot of them collect health data that they won’t want their employers to know about, hence it’ll wearable tech will mostly be used in a BYOD scenario.

“For IT managers, the most straight forward solution would be a BYOD scenario where IT could manage only the data and apps, but the devices and personal data would be managed by the employee,” says Fleck.

“Wearables will definitely accelerate BYOD in the enterprise. Again driven by consumers, I expect individuals will be the first to buy wearables like an iWatch or Google Glass. These peripheral devices will drive the purchase deception of Smartphones and platforms. No one wants to carry two smartphones, and these users will be influencing IT decisions as to what devices to support in a BYOD program.”

Fleck’s belief is reinforced by the numerous potential uses for wearable tech in the enterprise. As an example, Eurotech’s Zypad is wrist-mounted mini PC (pictured left) that’s ideal for workers who need connectivity whilst out in the field, such as search-and-rescue teams, warehouse workers, and anyone else on the move. Wearable tech also makes it possible for employers to track individuals, such as nurses or drivers, whilst smart glasses offer hands-free computing, allowing technicians to view schematics whilst repairing specialized machinery.

There are other use cases too – wearable gadgets could be used to manage machines by remote, for example assembly-line machines, adding an additional layer of safety for workers, while even sales personnel might be able to benefit from easily accessing information whilst delivering a pitch to their clients.

The Challenges of BYOWD

All of the above can and will happen, but the extent to which we see this will depend on how committed organizations are to embracing BYOWD, claims Fleck. Wearable computing devices will present the same challenges as when smartphones and tablets first showed up in the enterprise, and IT teams will need to stay ahead of the curve by formalizing their BYOD plans if they haven’t done so already. Chief among their concerns should be the need to secure and manager wearables to protect sensitive data, which can be easily exposed without the right protocols in place.

“IT managers should get ahead of the coming wave. Just allowing BYOD is not the answer, because that means opening up risks for company IP. Simply opening a document attachment from native email can result in the document in a personal Dropbox account and syncing to a home PC completely out of IT’s control,” warns Fleck.

“Container technologies (like Citrix XenMobile) that can separate work and personal apps and email will need to be considered to keep corporate IP safe, while allowing employees to take advantage of this next wave of computing devices,” adds Fleck.

Wearable tech is sure to emerge in the enterprise, but its adoption will take more than just consumer excitement. For one thing, not every organization will see the value of these gadgets – businesses will need to be convinced by the productivity gains if they’re going to be willing to face the challenges of managing yet more devices. More so, some industries will need to see more than just a hands-free alternative to reaching for the smartphone in your pocket. Nevertheless, there will be many business-use cases where wearable tech does make sense – we only have to look at the evolution of smartphones and tablets in the enterprise to see that with hands-free gadgets, just about anything is possible.