Wearable Computers Are Coming
Smart Technology in Business
So far, most wearable computers are aimed at the consumer market, although there have been interesting notions about using these devices in work-like environments, such as in the medical industry where surgeons can record procedures using, for example, Google Glass. Largely, however, the action in the SMB space continues to focus on cloud computing, managed services, and smartphones and tablets.
Its only a matter of time, though, until there will be some interesting computing innovations that will cross over. Ubiquitous computing, for example, involves computers and computing-related services disappearing into the world around us. In business, conference rooms may have wireless charging systems built into tables so smartphones and tablets can charge while they’re placed on them. And 3-D printing is enabling custom manufacturing of small objects such as jewelry, gadgets, games and toys, as well as home accessories like dining utensils and lighting.
Keeping up with all of these computing advances can seem like a daunting task, with “emerging-technology” departments perhaps springing up in typical IT environments. But the move to these new computing-model paradigms is typically slow, as businesses experiment with, pilot and then eventually deploy them. In fact, most companies would be wise to allow early adopters to do the heavy lifting for them, and then learn from and avoid the mistakes they made.
And despite all the media hype, there has to be an actual business case made for new-technology introductions into operating environments, Cloud computing and managed services, for example, have been around for a while, but it wasn’t until just recently – within the past several years – that wider-spread adoption has taken place. And even now, some companies can’t find compelling reasons to deploy them. As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” So if your current computing environment is fulfilling most if not all of your needs, you can simply sit back and wait until some of these new advances become genuinely practical and then apply them to your business model where applicable.
