Disruptive technologies are known as such for the way they shake IT systems to the core, and by all accounts we’re about to crash headlong into the next one, with the emergence of wearable technologies just around the coriner.

We’ve actually had wearable computing in various forms for some time – certain industries, like the military and healthcare have used various clip on gadgets for years – but for the rest of us, this type of hardware was almost unheard of.

Not anymore. With the rise of gadgets like Google Glass and the Pebble Smartwatch, these kinds of devices are on the verge of going mainstream, and when they finally arrive here en masse there’ll be barely a wrist in sight that isn’t wired up to some kind of hi-tech gizmo.

But what’s so good about these devices, and why will they be so popular? Essentially, they’re going to be like hands-free versions of our smartphones, putting all of that computing power even closer to hand than it is already. The thing with this is that because wearable tech will be, umm, handier than ever, it’s likely to be used even more often, and thus all of this Big Data companies love getting their hands on will only get bigger and bigger.

That’s good news for anyone who makes money off of that data, but that doesn’t mean that its adoption isn’t going to cause a few headaches for enterprise IT managers along the way. If IT staff thought BYOD was bad enough – well, that feeling’s going to get a whole lot worse when all of those smartphone and iPad wielding employees start turning up at work wearing Google Glass and a Smartwatch as well.

Top 3 Wearable Tech Worries

1. Employee Indiscretion

One of the most obvious risks has to do with security, but not as you might think. While wearable gadgets’ software will need to secured against intruders, perhaps the bigger threat might come from their user’s indiscretions. Try snapping away a few photos of sensitive documents or restricted areas with a smartphone and you’ll surely be caught in the act, but that isn’t so with something like Google Glass:

“The fact that Glass will be out of a pocket or bag far more often than a smartphone, and can presume a persistent data connection, and demands a blurring of the line between when you know a person is using their device and when they’re not, all add up to a piece of equipment with new danger potential,” to the SlashGear website.

“Things aren’t just victims – they’re also the aggressors. I can wear Glass in situations where people are not expecting a computer. And that means I can do interesting stuff.”

2. Network Security

The old bugbear of wireless security will be at the top of IT manager’s concerns. Wearable tech exclusively uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to connect to other devices, but while these network technologies have vastly improved over the last few years their security still rests on the safeguards that organizations have put into place and employees themselves practice. Enterprises will therefore have their work cut out educating the workforce about the dangers of things like carrying out sensitive tasks using wearable tech on public networks, and using weak passwords.

3. Productivity Sinks

Another problem area might be productivity sinks. First there were social networks like Facebook, then we had smartphone apps and games, now we’ve got Google Glass. With so many things to distract employees from the tasks they’re actually supposed to be doing, IT managers are going to have to work closely with business managers to determine company policy about what apps and services are okay to use and when.