WEARABLES IN THE WORKPLACE

Smart glasses

A new wave of tech is about to hit the workplace - wearable devices.  Smart watches, smart glasses, and other new 'attached' gadgets are going to be commonplace gear for people at work and all companies, not just cinemas, must plan to manage these devices in a way that allows end users the freedom they need but provides the security and protection your business needs.

It will be the BYOD (bring your own device) age, and where and when employees can bring their wearables to the job must be managed.  Employee owned wearables, for example, should not be allowed in areas where smartphones are not allowed -  primarily due to concerns about photos or video being taken with the camera feature of the wearable device.  Sexual harassment issues and the taking of photos without consent quickly come to mind.

Smart Watches

How a company restricts the use of wearables in the workplace will be an issue. Should the camera function be allow on company premises or be restricted?  Companies should get ahead of the curve, and rather than wait for employees to bring these devices to work, they should actively try them out in some narrow, controlled applications to understand how wearables will work in real-world situations.

Don't forget, all of these wearable devices will be connected to the web, so there will be instantaneous up and download capability. For cinemas its all about piracy and access to company records and data, for other firms the risks are different but the ground rules for the use of wearables in the workplace must be set and adhered to.