Cognitive computing is all about harnessing the computational power of intelligent machines for predictive maintenance and automated clinical decision-making, among others.
As it stands, the cognitive computing market is growing rapidly at a CAGR of 28.7%.
In essence, cognitive computing uses the concept of natural language processing coupled with artificial intelligence to solve a particular problem innovatively. It’s one of the latest technologies available as a cloud-based service. As of today, its applications are being realized across different verticals, including finance, media and entertainment, retail, the public sector, etc.
Benefits of Cognitive Computing
Improved Analysis and Outcomes
Cognitive computing can help businesses make better decisions in complex situations. It can help them analyze data and make predictions based on previous patterns and behaviors to predict what will happen next—and make informed decisions.
As such, cognitive computing can help increase a company’s efficiency by allowing them to handle more customers, process more transactions, and engage in more experiments. It enables them to optimize their business practices by analyzing data and making decisions based on such analysis.
Edge in New Markets
Cognitive computing can help businesses get ahead of the competition by allowing them to understand customers’ requirements before they even know they exist. To that effect, the benefits extend beyond cognitive computers just being diagnostic tools as they can also help companies gain an edge in new markets.
For instance, if a bank is looking for new ways to compete with other banks, they can consider implementing cognitive computing into their marketing strategy and better understand what customers want and how they might respond to different offers.
Heightened Innovation
Cognitive computing enables companies to innovate in new ways by taking advantage of the power of data analysis and machine learning algorithms. Data analysis and subsequent decision-making can lead to new products and services that were previously unexplored or wouldn’t have been possible.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Cognitive computing is an effective way to improve the customer experience. As elucidated above, it can help organizations understand their customers’ needs and preferences. Then it can use that information to make the best possible recommendations for them.
Cognitive Computing Use Cases
Cognitive computing works to mimic human thought processes, allowing for more efficient data analysis and problem-solving. To that end, let’s see some of its use cases from different industries.
Retail
Retail is one of the most obvious and immediate sectors where there are numerous use cases for cognitive computing. In an era of dynamic customer expectations and requirements, how can businesses make the purchasing experience smooth? The answer is cognitive computing. That’s because it can help retailers understand their customers better and provide a personalized experience that makes shopping easier, accessible, and more enjoyable.
All in all, cognitive computing paves the way for a myriad of possibilities to improve retail experiences. Personalized promotions, interactions with virtual agents, inventory determination, loyalty point verification, dynamic pricing, better order management, etc., are just a few examples of the benefits retailers can potentially realize from cognitive computing.
Logistics
Logistics companies are using cognitive computing for predictive maintenance and route optimization. Predictive maintenance helps companies predict when (or if) the machinery will malfunction so they can schedule maintenance before it happens, saving money on repairs and downtime. Route optimization helps companies discover new shipping routes that are less expensive or more efficient than existing ones.
Banking and Finance
Banks are increasingly looking to cognitive computing to help them make sense of their data. The technology can help them explore the customer lifecycle, comprehend transactional patterns, and develop new products. For example, a bank might be able to use cognitive computing to analyze its customers’ past spending habits and offer card promotions or recommendations on what they might want to buy next.
Power and Energy
Power companies can also use cognitive computing to put all the data they collect from their operations to use and make predictions about how it affects their systems and the overall efficiency of their service. We’re talking about improved situational awareness, better agility, enhanced security, and other benefits that lead to improved system performance. So, rather than being reactive, this would allow them to plan for any upcoming shortages or power outages.
Cyber Security
Cyber security is a growing challenge for businesses of all sizes. Cognitive computing can detect risks and reduce threats by analyzing network traffic patterns, user behavior, etc., to identify potential cyber-attacks before they occur.
Media and Entertainment
Cognitive computing is used in the media and entertainment industry to generate more relevant, interesting, and engaging content. This is accomplished by using machine learning algorithms to analyze user behavior on social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, and analyzing video streams. This information is then used to create new storylines that better reflect what audiences want to see.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing companies employ cognitive computing to analyze patterns in their sales data over time and determine if they need to scale the production of a specific product. If a competitor launches a similar product with lower prices, cognitive computing can help them decide whether or not it’s profitable to lower their prices as well or if it’s wise to tweak their production process.
The Final Word
Cognitive computing marks one of the most significant technological shifts in recent years. How exactly can companies harness the power of cognitive computing? That depends on their needs and goals, but one thing is for certain—they can’t afford to ignore it.
To learn more about how cognitive computing can help your business, connect with us today for a free consultation.