Amazing Ways Big Companies Use AI and Big Data to Drive Success

‘AI’ and ‘Big Data’ are currently the two most popular tech-related buzzwords in circulation on the web. Countless articles are written on these topics, often by individuals that lack a basic understanding of what these terms denote. This overproduction of superfluous content has misled the general populace with regard to the nature of these emerging technologies. So, we are going to talk about that how Big Companies Use AI and Big Data to Drive Success.

One way to improve the current state of knowledge on these topics, besides writing and publishing well-researched articles, is to provide documented examples of how leading companies from different industries are using artificial intelligence and large datasets in their day-to-day business operations.

This is not to say that industry leaders are necessarily at the forefront of innovation when it comes to these technologies. History provides ample cases of companies failing to utilize the full potential of the tech they were using. Nevertheless, knowing what the major players are doing is useful for observing general trends in technology use.

In the rest of this article, we will examine the various ways in which some of the world’s largest corporations are using emergent technologies such as AI and Big Data. Bear in mind that our examples are at best emblematic, and are only intended to demonstrate some of the latest trends in the field.

Coca-Cola

As one of the Fortune 500 highest-ranking companies (currently sitting at 87^th place in 2018), Coca-cola has been trying to utilize next-gen tech such as AI and Big Data to keep an edge over their competitors. As a beverage manufacturer, their usage of these technologies has mainly stayed on the production side of things, with a few notable forays into CRM.

One of the cornerstones of Coca-Cola’s branding is the titular taste of its various soft drinks. Coca-cola employs an AI algorithm trained on datasets that contain information on crop yields, satellite images of plantations, acidity and sweetness ratings, etc. to ensure that the taste of their drinks remains the same across different batches.

Another form of Big Data that Coca-cola regularly employs comes from Retailers such as Walmart, as well as from their own vending machines. Having detailed sales figures from vendors across the globe allows Coca-cola to keep track of minute changes in customer buying patterns. This allows them to match their production to fit consumer demand with great precision.

The last example of Coca-Cola’s usage of big datasets is for analyzing consumer feedback online. Coca-cola regularly sifts through content in search of mentions of their brand, in order to determine the sentiments that lie behind them. Information such as this is invaluable because it enables Coca-cola to judge how its brand is being perceived in real-time, giving them the opportunity to make an adjustment on the fly.

Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce has always had strong ties to the technology sector, and this is still the case for its present incarnation as one of the world’s leading aerospace manufacturers. Rolls Royce utilizes Big Data and AI in many areas of its business operations, but the primary ones are design, manufacture, and after-sales support.

When designing jet engines, Rolls Royce has to conduct numerous simulations in order to be able to guarantee that their products will perform well under duress. These simulations provide the company with terabytes of data, which is then analyzed by sophisticated AI-powered algorithms to find potential problems, and determine whether the designs in question need additional work.

The same thing goes on during the manufacturing stage. All devices in Rolls Royce smart-factories are connected to each other in order to share and record data. This gives Rolls Royce the ability to monitor the production process at all times, allowing them to predict the conditions under which their engines will have to undergo maintenance.

Rolls Royce engines themselves come with embedded systems for tracking performance. This means that Rolls Royce has all the data it needs to provide support on the fly. This so-called “Total Care” service is a component of Rolls Royce’s new business model whereby they charge clients for using their engines on an hourly basis while performing any necessary maintenance remotely.

Spotify

As a company, Spotify has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, so it comes as no surprise that they started dabbling in the fields of AI training and Big Data. Spotify’s business model is based around having a massive user base, which in turn gives the company plenty of data that they can use to optimize its operations.

Among the insights that Spotify can extract from their user data are those related to current trends in music. By being able to see what songs are being streamed all the time, Spotify can predict which kinds of tunes, artists, and genres are likely to blow up in the future, which makes the process of expanding their catalog much less random.

The user is seeing benefits from Spotify’s data-mining as well. Keeping track of each user’s streaming history allows Spotify to provide more relevant music suggestions in the future. The “Discover Weekly” feature is one example of such a service. Every user gets a personalized playlist of music that they haven’t heard previously, but which they are expected to enjoy based on their previous listens.

Spotify shares some of its data with artists as well. The new “Spotify for Artists” app lets musicians access various analytics such as which playlists are bringing in new fans, how many streams they are getting in total, what is the gender and age ratio of their fans, etc.

Samsung

Samsung has recently surpassed Apple as the largest provider of consumer electronics in the world. Its position as market leader has nudged the company to jump on any trends that are likely to solidify its lead. In light of this, Samsung’s recent push for Big Data-based, AI-driven services shouldn’t come off as surprising. And once Samsung starts leading the charge, other top digital agencies in the business will quickly follow suit.

Samsung first entered the AI marketplace when it released its virtual assistant called Bixby. This piece of intelligent software was initially available only on the Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone, but lately, Samsung has been pushing for its inclusion on other devices as well, including TVs, refrigerators, washers, and other devices.

Another of Samsung’s AI-power products is the 8K AI, which comes preinstalled on newer models of Samsung’s smart TVs. The AI in question works by analyzing TV content in order to upscale low-res video to the 8K quality. This feature is meant to be a solution to the fact that 8K video content is still fairly rare, leaving super high-res screens underutilized.

Samsung’s most impressive achievement in the domain of artificial intelligence is the development of the humanoid robot called “Saram“. Sources confirm that Samsung has perfected the vertical walking technology, which would allow their robots to traverse a variety of surfaces. Other features that are still being worked on include the ability to recognize locations and Collect visual information.

Conclusion

Big Data and AI are two technological trends that show the most promise in years to come. Their potential still remains largely untapped, but even at the current level of development, they are changing the way companies do business in significant ways. Whatever the future of tech may hold, we can be certain that AI and Big Data are going to be playing leading roles.