Utilizing Machine Learning to Get the Best out of 2020

Anyone Can Gain an Advantage Using Machine Learning

Machine Learning Among the Big Names

As I sit in isolation, I try to find ways to ease my boredom. I check my phone and browse the same app I looked at 5 minutes ago. With no live sports to enjoy, I find myself watching old football games the National Football League put on YouTube. I get to relive some amazing moments and pretend I don’t notice the games that have broken my heart in the past. The game of football has been nearly the same for years, and yet it still has my attention. While football teams win by having the most points at the end of the game, the way it is played and viewed has changed dramatically over the 100 seasons of the NFL. 

Over the last 10 years, the NFL has been utilizing data analysis and machine learning to better protect its players — and even decide what the best play is — by analyzing data available from the 100-year history of the NFL. This past year, the NFL partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to capture real-time location data, speed, and acceleration for every player, on every inch of the field, through sensors. There are so many potential gains from this information that go beyond the simple stats of a player that come up during a game. Using the power of Amazon Sagemaker, Amazon’s machine learning service, the NFL will be able to generate new insights into player injuries, potential game rule changes, rehabilitation, and so much more. Rapid change has happened to the NFL in just a tenth of its lifetime; it will be amazing to see what the next 10 years of analytics will bring to sports and other industries alike.

At this point, we expect billion-dollar companies to compete using machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). Machine learning is not only the future — it is our present. We’ve heard about the possibility of self-driving cars for years. Now standard luxury vehicles come equipped with self-driving features. Tesla has an AutoPilot; Nissan has ProPilot. We use Snapchat filters that alter your face by identifying your eyes, nose, mouth, and more. We receive personalized advertisements on items we have been researching or viewing on a different application. Alexa is able to play your favorite song without you ever touching anything. You have a GPS that is able to tell you the fastest route to your destination — and even if there are current traffic issues. It is amazing what we can do when companies find ways to utilize machine learning.

Machine Learning for Everyone

We see all the accomplishments that machine learning has achieved, yet not everyone is using it. We expect billion-dollar companies to use it, but do we expect ourselves to use it? Why not? 

Some common answers we hear from clients are: 

• We aren’t equipped with a data scientist
• We don’t have a machine learning engineer
• We have no value or use case for machine learning
• Our data isn’t clean enough

The thing is, the companies that have taken the step to truly find value in machine learning are finding ways to compete and outperform their competitors. You don’t need to be running a billion-dollar company to use this amazing technology. There’s just one pre-requisite: a willingness and readiness to make change happen.  

Everyone can get started with machine learning today. 

Forrester Research shows that companies that use better data to build insights will have a competitive advantage over their peers. They are expected to grow at an average of more than 30 percent each year, and by 2021 are predicted to take $1.8 trillion in business annually from their less-informed peers. Instead of finding reasons why you shouldn’t use machine learning, consider the following questions should use machine learning. 

• Do you have a task or report that can be automated? 
• Do you have a weekly report that displays all your sales for the week? What if you could just hit a button and have it pop up in a folder? 
• Do you have unused Excel data? 
• Do you want to find new ways to keep customers coming to your business?
• Do you want to find ways to save money?
• Do you want to be a customer-first organization? 
• Do you want to uncover hidden costs to increase revenue? 

The questions that can be asked are limitless. It all depends on the industry you are in. There is one answer that will satisfy all these infinite questions that could inspire a new way of thinking of machine learning.

What Zirous Can Do for You

Zirous provides solutions to the problems you have behind untouched data. According to Zion Market Research, the machine learning market was valued at 1.58 billion USD in 2017, and it is expected to reach 20.83 billion USD by 2024.  In order to find the hidden value within an organization, Zirous shares our expertise by providing machine learning education, demonstrating what it can do, and how it can be used for a client to transform their organization. 

For companies looking to become a customer-first organization, Zirous’ joint venture with OBI Creative, Zirobi, is a perfect blend of advanced analytics and marketing know-how, crafting customer centricity through data and insights. 

No matter your goals, your current situation, or even what department you work in, advanced analytics and machine learning are attainable and invaluable for your future success. The best time to start is now. Let’s do this.