This post was originally featured on The Pristine Blog.
I'd like to posit that the enterprise Glass app market is going to be a gold rush. Many folks disagree. They argue that Glass volumes will be low, at best a few percent of smartphones, and that there can't be a gold rush with such low volumes. The first assertion is accurate, but the second isn't. Interestingly, most of my remarks and bearishness about Glass as a consumer product would seem to contradict the notion of a gold rush as well.
The slide above is taken from the Pristine investor deck. The thesis of the slide is that 92% of Fortune 500 companies were using iPads within 18 months of launch, and that Glass adoption will be even faster. The iPad saw incredible adoption despite the fact that: developers tools and communities weren't that mature at launch, existing enterprise IT infrastructure wasn't very cross-platform or Android friendly, and that the launch hype of the iPad, although significant, was less than what we're seeing out of Google with Glass. In hype terms, Glass will be the largest consumer electronics launch of all time (iPhone 5 wins in dollar terms). It will be a spectacular show for the ages. I can't wait :).
So how does the above translate into a gold rush? Well, we know that enterprises adopted iPads quickly for their employees in the field, and all indications are that they'll adopt Glass even more quickly, especially at a sub-$400 price point. Glass will make a lot of employees better at their jobs, and employers would be stupid not to adopt a technology that can solve problems that are pervasive 8 or 10 hours / employee / day. Glass is the ideal device for individuals who are running around all day, using their hands, and accessioning and sharing information. Healthcare is indubitably the largest vertical for Glass, but there're many others.
The Explorer Program is giving developers, including my company, Pristine, a 6 month window to develop and test their apps before Glass's launch this holiday season. By the time Glass is commercially available, most of the obvious, high-value add enterprise apps will be tested and ready to roll out at.
Let the races begin.