Learning not to ‘over think’ predictive analytics | Information Management

"Most firms are more ready than they realize to implement the technology, and they fail to see the countless opportunities at hand." according to David Weldon, editor-in-chief of Information Management.   

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The predictive analytics and machine learning markets are projected to grow at a rate of 15 percent annually through 2021, yet many organizations fail to reap full benefits from their investments. The problem is often that the organization makes the process too complicated.

The irony is that most large organizations are more prepared to implement and use predictive analytics and machine learning than they think, says Mike Gualtieri, a research analyst with Forrester Research. 

Gualtieri has just published a Forrester Wave report on predictive analytics and machine learning, “The Forrester Wave: Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning Solutions, Q1 2017.” In it, Gualtieri notes that organizations that want to leverage artificial intelligence need to start with a predictive analytics and machine learning solution.

“Predictive models created using machine learning are already commonly used for marketing, customer intelligence, and risk models,” Gualtieri says. “The teams of data scientists that create these models are in the know. But, often the employees such as enterprise architects who are charged with investigating AI don't understand that machine learning models are fundamental building blocks of AI.”

That is unfortunate, Gualtieri says. “There are hundreds, if not thousands, of opportunities to use machine learning models in business processes and customer experiences. This is not day one, but it is still only day 2. There is tremendous opportunity today, but most enterprises struggle about how to think about AI. They are thinking too big. Successful machine learning models is about predicting one simple thing that can have a big impact on the business such as the next best product to recommend for an individual customer.”

Forrester forecasts a 15 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the PAML market through 2021. That’s a conservative estimate, given that the PAML category includes and overlaps with AI and deep learning. Gualtieri says the category continues to be hot since most large enterprises want the power to predict and have only scratched the surface of what is possible. 
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Source: Information Management