Worldwide Wearable's 2016 Predications

1. Document #259832. © 2016 IDC www.idc.com/itexecutive | Page 1
IDC Executive Summary | IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Wearables 2016 Predictions
Figure 1 presents IDC’s wearables top 10 predictions in terms of their likely impact across the enterprise
and the time it will take for the predictions to reach mainstream. By mainstream, IDC means the broad
middle of the bell curve of adoption (i.e., the 40–60% of enterprises that are neither the first movers and
early adopters nor the last to act). Each bubble’s size provides a rough indicator of the complexity and/or
cost an enterprise will incur in acting on the prediction.
Authors: Ramon T. Llamas, Emily Taylor, Francisco Jeronimo, Kenneth Liew, Ko Shikita, Paola Soriano
Companywide
MultipleDepartments
orBusinessUnits
ASingleDepartment
oraBusinessUnit
Time (Months) To Mainstream
OrganizationalImpact
0 – 12 12 – 24 24+
3
6
2
App explosion
by 12 times
Security
concerns
Fitness tracker
distribution
Android Wear
and watchOS
Sales and
smartwatches
Dealers,
VARs, SIs
Smartwatch
cellular
connectivity 8% have
BYOD policy
for wearables
Smart
eyewear
2% of
budget
5 41
9
7
8
10
IDC DecisionScapes
IDC FutureScape
IDC TechScape
IDC MaturityScape
IDC PlanScape
IDC MaturityScape
Benchmark
IDC MarketScape
IDC PeerScape
IDC EdgeScape
IDC FutureScape
Worldwide Wearables 2016 Predictions
FIGURE 1
IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Wearables 2016 Top 10 Predictions
Note: The size of the bubble indicates priority to enterprises. Source: IDC, 2015

2. Document #259832. © 2016 IDC www.idc.com/itexecutive | Page 2
IDC Executive Summary | IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Wearables 2016 Predictions
IDC Opinion
IDC believes that over the next few years, the wearable device market will be shaped by evolutions and
innovations in form factors, functionalities of devices, apps for smart wearables, and new product launches.
The effects of these evolutions will be felt both in the consumer and in the enterprise space, but the
enterprise is positioned to drive unique benefits in productivity as wearable devices enable new and
innovative ways to revolutionize business processes. This IDC FutureScape provides IDC’s top 10 predictions
to provide context on the impact of these devices in the enterprise over the next 36 months. It is important
for technology professionals to be aware of this rapidly evolving market to ensure that as more devices,
services, and use cases appear in the market, their organization is equipped to hit the ground running.
It bears pointing out that the majority of these predictions will take place in 2017 and beyond. That is
because wearables are still finding their way into the enterprise. Smartwatches continue to evolve, and we
are just getting to the point where the user experience is intuitive and seamless, and applications have only
recently gained momentum. IDC also expects smart eyewear to find its footing in the 2017– 2018 time
frame, opening the door for greater adoption and usage within the enterprise.
When putting these predictions together, we organized them into the following categories that IT
managers will most likely face:
» Products such as smartwatches, eyewear, and fitness trackers
» Sourcing and procurement
» Policy, including BYOD, security, and platforms
» Applications
These are intended to provide IT managers a holistic view of the different facets of the wearables market,
and how best to prepare for them.
Source: IDC, 2015
IDC FutureScape: Wearables Predictions for 2016
1. Eighteen Percent of Smartwatches Shipped Will Have Cellular Connectivity by the End of 2016
2. Smart Eyewear Will Improve Business Processes by 25% by 2018
3. There Will Be an Increase in Enterprise Applications by 12 Times by the End of 2017
4. By the End of 2017, Security for Wearables Will Become a Top 5 Issue for CIOs
5. Thirty Percent of Fortune 500 Companies Will Distribute Fitness Trackers to Employees in 2016
6. By 2017, Only 8% of Companies Will Have Developed a BYOD Policy for Wearables
7. CIOs Pivot 2% of Their Budgets to Include Wearable Devices by 2018
8. Seven Percent of Sales Professionals Will Use Smartwatches to Uncover and Act Upon Customer Insight by the End of 2017
9. Companies Will Select Android Wear and watchOS as Their Primary Smartwatch Platforms in 2016
10. Wearables Shipments Through Dealers, Value-Added Resellers, and Systems Integrators Will Increase by 11.5 Times by 2018