Wearables: Enterprise device shipments reach 154 Million by 2021

ABI Research forecasts global wearable device shipments to increase up to 35% by 2021, reaching 154 million devices. The analysts estimate that more and more enterprises in education, government, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, transportation, and warehousing are incorporating wearable devices into the workforce.

ABI Research predicts that the warehouse and manufacturing and field services will represent the most tangible near-term opportunity for enterprise wearable shipments.

Stephanie Lawrence, Research Analyst at ABI Research:

"Wearables in the workforce are becoming more prominent, as they give workers immediate, direct access to important information, such as profiling health care records on a smart glass display. This hands-free approach saves time, allowing staff to become more efficient and, ultimately, saving companies money."

According to ABI Research wearables can help minimize unplanned downtime in the workforce, but the type of wearable to be most readily adopted into the enterprise world remains dependent upon the specific industry or use case to which it caters.

ABI estimes that Smart glasses and Heads Up Displays, or HUDs, for example, will drive enterprise wearable technology as the convergence of IT and operational technology (OT) becomes more pervasive. Warehouse and manufacturing verticals, one of the more attractive first forays for wearables, will receive 34% of smart glass and wearable scanner shipments.

Ryan Martin, Senior Analyst at ABI Research:

"Companies like Accenture, APX Labs, Atheer, Epson, Microsoft, PTC, SAP, and Vuzix have already started to place their bets on smart glasses, head-mounted displays, and AR-driven digital eyewear as the dominant vehicle for time to value. While watches, clothing, and other wearable tech will also weave its way into the enterprise workflow, companies will be hard pressed to find an app or use case that supersedes hands-free, heads-up access to information at the time and place work is actually performed."

Source(s)