CES 2014: IoT and wearables have enterprise CIOs scheming

Business wearables?

The technologies seem great for consumers, but what influence will they have on the enterprise and CIOs in particular? SearchCIO headed to Twitter to ask those talking about #CES2014 just that, unleashing a torrent of suggestions:

@darbshaw When will "wearables" will work their way into the enterprise? Will CIOs ever utilize them? #CES2014

— SearchCIO.com (@searchCIO) January 9, 2014

@darbshaw What kind of enterprise applications?

— SearchCIO.com (@searchCIO) January 9, 2014

@searchCIO shipping real time identification of goods using #AugmentedReality or #Barcodes. So many more just let the imagination wander.

— Bradley Shaw (@darbshaw) January 9, 2014

Our tweeters might be ahead of the curve on this. In the Harris Poll of 2,250 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive (Nov. 2013), 37% of respondents say they're "not at all familiar" with wearable tech, and 33% say they've heard the term but don't know anything about it. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, opening keynote speaker at CES, said wearables aren't taking over the market today because they aren't solving real problems.

While they aren't all over the market now, wearables are expected to be a $10 million market by 2016:

@JRosenworcel But when you you think "wearables" will work their way into the enterprise? Will CIOs ever utilize them? #CES2014

— SearchCIO.com (@searchCIO) January 9, 2014

@searchCIO If wearables fit in to workflows or streamlined work, yes. Transcribe video summary of a meeting for example @JRosenworcel

— David A. Bray (@fcc_cio) January 10, 2014

@searchCIO Or if a wearable could assist with knowing what parts of the day you could be interrupted vs. not interrupted=yes. @JRosenworcel

— David A. Bray (@fcc_cio) January 10, 2014

The Internet of Things

The IoT isn't new; according to our favorite encyclopedia, Kevin Ashton proposed the term in 2009. But the concept continues to gain in popularity. Why? For starters, it represents a ton of money. Cisco CEO John Chambers values the Internet of Things at $19 trillion. If that number isn't enough to catch a CIO's attention, industry analysts expect to see $50 billion in IoT connected devices in use by 2050, communicating with PCs, tablets, smartphones or whatever the network-connected device of choice will be in 36 years.

But CIOs should not wait until then to incorporate IoT into their IT strategies. Within the enterprise, IoT connected devices can offer a whole new level of efficiencies and insights, according to Maureen Ohlhausen, commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, who spoke about the opportunities and risks of the IoT at CES:

The #IoT not only will connect more *things* – it will also connect more *people* to the Internet, and ultimately, to each other. #CES2014

— Maureen Ohlhausen (@MOhlhausenFTC) January 8, 2014

#IoT can benefit hard-to-reach groups (elderly, poor) by bringing services to them. Ex: remote medical diagnoses & wearables #CES2014

— Maureen Ohlhausen (@MOhlhausenFTC) January 8, 2014

Important to safeguard user #privacy in #IoT context. Traditional notice and choice paradigm important but challenging in #IoT. #CES2014

— Maureen Ohlhausen (@MOhlhausenFTC) January 8, 2014

Addressing consumer #privacy concerns over #IoT will require constant innovation from industry and from regulators. #CES2014

— Maureen Ohlhausen (@MOhlhausenFTC) January 8, 2014

After following Twitter coverage of IoT talks at CES, we here at SearchCIO are still left with several unanswered questions: What bandwidth will IoT connected devices run on? How will enterprises keep data protected? Feel free to weigh in. For another overview on wearable technology, read Senior Features Writer Karen Goulart's Searchlight column. Follow SearchCIO for more updates about how these new technologies are influencing the enterprise.