Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in the Digital Age

Machine learning, data and analytics have been around for ages. But how we have come to use these resources in our daily lives has changed tremendously. For starters, it has always been used by highly qualified data scientists who need to map out processes, program machines, decipher what the data is saying, analyse it and feed it back to the layman. Today, it is being democratised and automated so that anyone, even the layman with very basic knowledge about technology, with the help of machine learning, is able to use data and analytics to their advantage.

The automation of this technology is being described as the 6th Wave of Automation. The first being the Automation of Knowledge Transfer, then the Automation of Food, next came the Automation of Decisions, then Automation of Making Stuff, and the last automated wave was Automated Processes. Which brings us finally to our sixth wave.

The Sixth Wave of Automation has a lot of potential as is described by Amr Awadallah, CTO of Cloudera.

“The sixth wave of automation is the automation of decisions. Through Machine Learning (ML), data and analytics, we can create algorithms to learn how humans make decisions and in turn, automate and repeat the decision-making process to make it more efficient. The ability to automate decisions can empower organisations to be more efficient, productive and help them to lower costs.”

One of the major contributors to the development of this sixth wave was the influx of stored data. The more we learned to store data, the more uses we found for it. Once machine learning proliferated the market in the 1990s, and the cost of compute started to drop, the immense growth of stored data capabilities spring-boarded how scientists could use machine learning to develop new and improved technologies for the masses. From more insightful applications for handheld devices, to better and faster production line equipment and management. The possibilities became endless.

Companies such as Cloudera, who have been at the crux of these technological developments, are able to assist businesses to drive customer insights, protect businesses from cyber threats and connect products and services from these data.

Through the technological support and platforms provided by Cloudera, their customers have seen marked changes in both, productivity and security. A telco, Deutsche Telekom, reported improved operational efficiencies by up to 50%, while another client, Komatsu, managed to double their efficiency and improve safety through the data and analytics platform provided by Cloudera.

Today, data analytics and machine learning are the tools needed for businesses, governments and individuals to improve services, streamline management processes, become more efficient in planning daily activities, and so much more.

Automated technological advancements are automating everything from driverless cars to predictive analysis that pre-empts factories to change or replace components that are wearing out. Businesses are able to prevent losses by understanding their customers’ buying patterns and therefore need not overstock or understock their warehouses. By using cloud-based analytics, they are able to derive this information seamlessly without needing highly qualified personnel to program the machines, analyse the data and make it readable to the business decision makers.

The Sixth Wave of Automation has effectively transformed every aspect of the human experience unlike any of the previous waves in both the speed of change and range of its effects. Governments, businesses and even individuals will all need to adapt to some degree in order to continue to be relevant. Governments will need to adhere to new rules of transparency and security, businesses will be able to adjust their offerings more granularly, and the individual will need to re-learn many new ways of being relevant in the job market.

For more information on how your business can take advantage of this technology, click this link.

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