Cognitive technology is a specific field of computer science that copies functions of the human brain through data mining, natural language processing and pattern recognition. At the drastic speed technology is advancing, the cognitive tech will help to make our lives more intelligent which will transform the way humans will interact with technology in our daily lives, especially in fields of machine learning, automation and information technology.
IBMs ‘Watson’ or ‘cognitive technology’ refers to its capabilities of understanding the world just like humans through the use of senses and learning at an unbelievable speed that cannot be matched.
Over the next decade or so there will be a substantial impact of cognitive technology on businesses or organization. Heads of companies in all sectors need to introspect on how and where to apply cognitive technologies as appropriate investments can improve performance tremendously creating a competitive edge.
Cognitive Technology in Organizations
In recent times cognitive technology has been successfully implemented in several industrial sectors like defence, aerospace, automotive, agricultural, banking, healthcare, real estate, travel, hospitality, sales, marketing and others. After analyzing it has been observed that cognitive technology falls into three categories namely product, process and insight.
Product applications use this technology to provide end customer benefits for both products and services. Organizations can implant cognitive technologies to make their products and services convenient, effective, faster and distinctive in order to increase their value. Not only can existent products and services be enhanced but new categories of products and services can be introduced to create a new market and generate larger profits for investors.
Process applications make use of this technology to improve and automate operation. Automation in computer systems results in the work being done faster, better and at cheaper rates. Cognitive technologies automate work by augmenting workers or replacing them. Some cognitive technology apps eliminate human jobs by taking over their responsibilities. Good examples are the automated voice response system replacing customer service agents or driverless mining trucks reducing the risk for human drivers.
Finally, Insight applications use the advanced analytical capabilities of cognitive technology like machine learning to display insights to inform and implement strategic decisions in an organization. Natural language techniques for processing allow large volumes of unstructured data to be analyzed. Many organizations are making use of cognitive technologies for generating insights that will help to improve efficiency, reduce costs, increase revenue and enhance customer experiences. Some big organizations like Intel, BBVA Compass bank, Stevia First, GNS Healthcare besides many others are using cognitive technologies to generate insights to reduce costs, improve sales and consequently increase revenue.
Cognitive technologies can thus be used in several ways to benefit business prospects. This superlative tech should certainly be adopted by every company before 2020 keeping in mind their business processes, their products, data assets, staffing models, and the market to avoid any risks. Other main consideration where organizations can screen opportunities for using cognitive technology should be its viability and how vital and valuable it can be for your organization. The greatest potential, however, is to create value rather than trying to reduce costs.
