Artificial intelligence (AI) is still new technology for many of your clients, but AI predictions from industry analysts and thought leaders point to a deployment of AI solutions in 2019. The promise of benefits including automation, decision-making capabilities, and streamlined, data-driven processes has captured enterprises’ attention and infiltrated their technology roadmaps.
Andrea Miner, Director of Data, Analytics & IoT Solutions at Tech Data, says, “The proliferation of data has created an opportunity never before imagined. Businesses are leveraging data to drive cost savings, improve customer experiences, create new strategic business models, and many more business outcomes resulting in more profitable, competitive companies. Leveraging technology becomes a necessary element to business success. Multifaceted technologies like analytics, AI, and the Internet of Things (IoT) provide a competitive advantage to businesses that leverage the power of data and the associated insights.”
The Move to the Edge
Michael Bushong, Vice President of Enterprise Marketing at Juniper Networks, predicts AI and the growth of connected IoT systems will bring about another change. “The cloud is largely predicated on the idea that data can be moved to the application. But in environments where connectivity is challenging, it is more viable to move the application to the data. Oil platforms with satellite uplinks and proverbial tons of data are a great example of where multi-access edge computing (MEC) is useful. In 2019, the push for edge computing will gain commercial traction.”
AI in Healthcare
Thought leaders are also making AI predictions related to specific vertical markets. Bob Houghton, West CIO at NetApp, predicts, “The medical field could go through the biggest changes in 2019 as AI will create a more predictive/subscripted foundation for diagnosis, based upon necessity. Healthcare and the population of aging baby boomers will require it. At home service can use AI to prescribe certain medications, and doctors will use AI and the cloud to virtualize some services.”
AI in Local Government
Aleta L. Jeffress, Chief Information Officer at City of Aurora, CO, sees local governments poised to benefit from AI. She says smart cities will use AI to analyze what citizens and businesses require, enabling local government to provide constituent- and business-focused services, making a city an attractive and beneficial place to live, work, and play.
“Devices and sensors provide data in real-time to drive a multitude of decisions from trash removal to traffic flow,” says Jeffress. “These decisions will become smarter as machine learning and AI solutions are more embedded into mission-critical areas such as public safety and utility management.” She says when local governments invest in, adopt, and leverage outcomes at the edge via IoT and AI, they’ll “not only be competitive but more importantly benefit and advance their citizens.”
Leveraging AI for IT Security
Derek Brost, Director of Professional Services – Security at InterVision, predicts AI will also have an impact on IT security in 2019. “There is an area in cybersecurity which necessitates machine learning — log analysis. A common requirement in operations and compliance is logging, aggregating and analyzing incidents and events across systems,” says Brost. “But unfortunately this data is growing at far faster paces than is affordable for human analysis.”
He adds that alert fatigue and heavy workload impact human performance, which could lead to missing important indications of a cyberattack.
“Therefore, machine learning will be used to reduce both the effort and time spent recognizing patterns and making escalation decisions. Commercial tools are emerging, specifically in this applied space and, as necessity is the mother of invention, expect these tools to prove their value proposition in 2019,” Brost says.
See the Signs
Your clients may be ready to adopt AI for their use cases or to improve operations. PwC reports that the global AI market could total as much as $15.7 trillion by 2030, and their recent survey shows 20 percent of organizations plan to deploy AI enterprise-wide this year. But PwC analysts also recognize that business leaders need help using AI in a way that maximizes value. Advances in AI technology such as explainable AI, improved data governance capabilities, and efficient ways to train the AI can add a great deal of value to the solutions you provide. That value can differentiate your applications and your business from the competition as your clients deploy AI in 2019. 
