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Intensifying the potential of BI, analytics

Kirsten Doyle
By Kirsten Doyle, ITWeb contributor.
Johannesburg, 15 Feb 2018
Frans Vermaak, CTO of Praesignis.
Frans Vermaak, CTO of Praesignis.

Trends such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), Hadoop, the Internet of things (IOT) and cloud computing, have changed the way business looks at information, and have the potential to deliver disruptive outcomes and reshape business in 2018.

In fact, any strategic decisions businesses make, rely on intelligence gleaned from these technologies.

So says Frans Vermaak, CTO of Praesignis, who will be presenting on 'Dissecting trends such as AI, Hadoop, IOT, Blockchain and Cloud Computing', at the ITWeb Business Intelligence & Analytics Summit 2018, to be held on 14 and 15 March at The Forum in Bryanston.

Drastic influences

"BI and analytics is not only the domain of IT and developers. Each one of these trends and technologies have unique and drastic influences on the traditional BI and analytics fields."

Practitioners have a responsibility to understand the value and application of these technologies for the benefit of their organisations, he says. These technologies are generating, storing, securing, and analysing more data, and making the information more transparent.

Intensifying the potential

A failure to understand these technologies well will see the true benefit of this data going to waste. "These technologies have intensified the potential we have with BI and analytics. We can gain more accurate insights, at rapid speed, from extremely diverse and disparate data, and apply it automatically into systems without human intervention, or in parallel with human actions. We can build closed systems with enhanced intelligence, that fulfil tasks and take decisions independently and much faster than what is humanly possible."

Real disruptors

ITWeb BI & Analytics Summit 2018

Register now to attend the BI & Analytics Summit 2018 at The Forum, Bryanston on 13 - 15 March 2018. Frans Vermaak will join other industry leaders in discussing their experience of the best practices for business intelligence and analytics. For the most up-to-date agenda, click here.

To find out more and register for the BI & Analytics Summit 2018, go to: http://v2.itweb.co.za/event/itweb/business-intelligence-summit-2018/?page=agendaday1

Vermaak says each one of these technologies has very unique benefits if applied correctly to individual or general use cases. "Assuming that these technologies will solve all of our challenges is a very risky mindset, but the benefits could be extraordinary if applied correctly. We can build closed systems with enhanced intelligence, that fulfil tasks and take decisions independently and much faster than what is humanly possible."

He adds that these technologies can give insights into the business that we never realised existed. These include increased security and trust in transactions and data, reduced costs in hardware and overheads, improved insights and deeper analytics, predictive capabilities, real-time information of "things" that could highlight risks or just inform.

These technologies are real disruptors and can differentiate almost any business in their market. "In some cases, it can open your business to brand new areas for generating revenue," he explains.

The correct mix

According to him, as with all the traditional BI methodologies and technologies, we know that we have to apply the correct mix of methodologies and technologies with the appropriately skilled resources to achieve success. "The same applies here. Unfortunately, one of the biggest challenges at the moment, is people resources with adequate skills and experience to develop and implement these new technologies. Identifying the optimal approach to a defined use case with any of these technologies is vital, but it takes experience, not just knowledge. Unfortunately, many projects are launched without the correct planning and guidance, and as a result fail, after much time and budget spend."

Delegates attending Vermaak's presentation will learn how, when applied correctly, these technologies can change the world for the better.

"We are now in the beginning of a major era of the machine. Machines or computers can do more, learn more and add more value to humans and businesses, but tread lightly," he warns. "It can also burden us with far more challenges than we can currently imagine. Multimillion dollar companies have started up from nowhere with these new technologies. These trends and technologies are here to stay and will forever change our business models and the way we interact with information. Machines will not take over the world and erase humanity - in the near future."

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