Getting Ahead of the Cognitive Technology Wave

There’s a paradox in artificial intelligence and cognitive technology. They can help us stay ahead, but also be the cause of major disruption.

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“The future always comes too fast.” Those are the words of Alvin Toffler, the best-selling author and futurist known for his works examining the impact of technologies.

It seems paradoxical that the technologies that help us stay competitive in today’s global business environment can also disrupt industries.

For example, if your career spans 25 years, you probably have some personal perspective on this disruption. We’ve seen the Internet, enterprise software, and mobile phones emerge and evolve – and now could never imagine doing business without them. They’ve not only transformed our businesses and industries, but our lives and our world.

Some technologies cause ripples, some cause waves. Some businesses and industries benefit from the resulting changes, and others fall behind. A few businesses see changes on the horizon and take action. Yet others get swept up in the tide.

The Next Wave: Cognitive Technology

What’s the next wave? The next game-changing technology on par with the Internet, enterprise software, and mobile devices? Many analysts point to artificial intelligence, also known as cognitive technology.

Cognitive technologies are no longer the realm of science fiction. According to TechRepublic (ZDNet), technology and economics are aligning in a way that puts us at “a tipping point after which the use of artificial intelligence will become commonplace.”

IDC estimates that, by 2020, 50 percent of all business software will incorporate some cognitive computing functionality.

Also, the Pew Research Center noted, “By 2025, artificial intelligence will be built into the algorithmic architecture of countless functions of business and communication, increasing relevance, reducing noise, increasing efficiency and reducing risk across everything from finding information to making transactions.”

The Thinking Technology

Cognitive technologies actually understand, learn, and think through any objective, problem, or question you present, and then offer detailed answers, analysis, or solutions. They reason and learn like a human, but at enormous scale and speed, providing deeper insights and intelligence.

Cognitive technology presents a tremendous opportunity to business and procurement. For example, with cognitive technologies, procurement organisations can provide very detailed supplier assessments in just minutes, drawing from a wide range of data sources.

Additionally, they can provide much more in-depth risk assessments and uncover previously hidden sources of disruption and risk. And procurement can become more adept at innovating, providing the business new insights and opportunities.

In sum, cognitive technologies can unlock unimagined new insights, enable enhanced decision making, and deliver highly optimised outcomes and value.

Opportunity or Disruption

The opportunity for cognitive technology is tremendous, but organisations need to look ahead and prepare. Procurement leaders should start thinking how cognitive technology will transform roles and organisations. They must re-skill their team with talents that enable this shift.

Perhaps the best ways to do so are to start cognitive projects in certain key areas. Think about what projects or processes in your organisation could most benefit from cognitive technology.

As you apply these technologies to certain tasks and processes, you’ll begin developing internal capability and expertise. And you’ll begin to enhance the skill set of your professionals.

Another way to prepare for the cognitive future is to develop and hone data analytics skills and projects. Even in the absence of perfect systems or perfect data, analytics programs can provide tremendous value.

Levels of procurement and analytics maturity can vary and evolve over time. However, analytics can immediately play a key role in enabling procurement transformation and success, across a number of areas, including:

• Savings and value creation;
• Risk mitigation; or
• Supplier development and innovation.

Research shows that the most successful procurement organisations take a more comprehensive approach to analytics technologies. And such programs build the foundation for application and success of cognitive technologies.

The future is always just around the corner. But some waves of technology innovation are bigger than others. Cognitive, by all accounts, is one of those big waves.

For those who fail to prepare, it guarantees disruption. For those who take the reins, it presents tremendous opportunity.

What if you could see the supply chain road ahead and mitigate risks before they become obstructions? For procurement, this helping hand can come from IBM Watson Supply Chain. Find out all you need to know here.