The wearable technology market in APAC’s value is expected to more than quadruple to $US37 billion over the next five years, according to Frost and Sullivan.  

Currently sitting at a worth of $US8.5 billion, the wearables market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 34%, while the uptake among enterprises will be even faster at 75% between 2014 and 2018.

The Frost and Sullivan report making these predictions, ‘Wearable Technology – Has the next enterprise game changer arrived?’, explains three important drivers moving the market forward:

1. The explosion in internet of things ecosystems and wearables’ potential within them,

2. new avenues opened up by wearables’ ability to provide contextual computing capabilities, and

3. wearables’ several disruptive attributes that empower the wearer with enhanced capabilities.

Frost and Sullivan industry analyst in ICT practice, Arvind Arun, says that for the wearables industry to reach its potential, it must address serious challenges in areas such as the following:

• Battery life,

• versatility and robustness of sensors,

• interoperability between various devices and platforms, and

• encouraging the app developer community to get involved.

“Wearables could seriously challenge the status quo in several industries and could substantially enhance process efficiency, customer experience and worker safety in hazardous work environments.”

Some examples of areas in which wearables are predicted to become serious disrupters according to Arun include:

• Healthcare: aiding in preventative medicine,

• retail: wearables will increase the ease of ‘showrooming’, with customers inspecting products in-store and buying online, increasing stress on bricks-and-mortar retailers,

• banking: wearables could serve as an alternative to credit and debit cards.