Cognitive Computing and Big Data Analytics

CHAPTER 8 The Business Implications of Cognitive Computing

We are clearly going through a major transformation in the technologies that are available to change the way we live and work. With the declining prices of software and hardware and the ability to create new innovations with few capital resources, industries across the globe are changing. So, if the difference between success and failure is no longer simply based on how big a company is, how will we differentiate one supplier from the next? Cognitive computing may be the factor that can add a new dimension to the competitive race. Can we make smarter products and services? Can we anticipate what customers and partners will need in the future? In this chapter we will explore the disruptive power of cognitive computing.

Preparing for Change

Businesses have always had more data in their structured databases, document stores, and packaged business applications than they know what to do with. For decades business leaders understood that if they could capture unique insights from that data before their competitors find them, they could have a competitive weapon. Slowly, businesses are beginning to find ways to integrate data across silos so that they can begin taking a holistic approach to gain insights from data. These leaders understand that if they can extract meaningful relationships or patterns from data about customers, partners, suppliers, employees, and overall market dynamics, they can turn that information into ...