Series Introduction: ‘Your Guide to the Future’
Here at B2B International, we’re always thinking of the latest innovations and emerging ‘megatrends’ shaping our clients’ industries and markets.
So, for every month in 2019 we decided to delve a little deeper into each of these trends and produce a mini-guide looking at what it is, how big it will be and the opportunity it presents for b2b companies.
Our complete ‘Guide to the Future’ is also available as a handy desk calendar (see above) – click here for details on how to get your hands on one.
This month’s topic is machine learning. Enjoy!
What is it?
Machine learning is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that gives computers the ability to continually learn from data, identify patterns, make decisions and improve from experience in an autonomous fashion over time without being explicitly programmed.
How big will it be?
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), spending on AI and machine learning will grow from $US37.5 billion in 2019 to $US97.9 billion by 2023.
What’s the opportunity?
Machine learning is having a big impact on the healthcare industry by using data from wearables and sensors to assess a patient’s health in real-time. Unexpected and unpredictable patterns can be identified from masses of independent variables leading to improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Machine learning is also being used in the financial services industry as a way of preventing fraud. Systems can analyze millions of bits of data relating to online buyer and seller behavior, which by themselves wouldn’t be conclusive, but together can form a strong indication of fraud.
Oil and gas is another industry starting to benefit from machine learning technology. For example, miles of pipeline footage shot by drones can be analyzed pixel by pixel, identifying potential structural weaknesses that humans would not be able to see.
Conclusion
As more and more industries rely on huge volumes of data, and with computational processing becoming cheaper and more powerful, machine learning will lead to rapid and significant improvements to business processes and transform the way companies make decisions . Models can be quickly and automatically produced that can analyze bigger, more complex data sets, uncover previously unknown patterns and identify key insights, opportunities and risks.