The platform, provided by Blue Yonder, uses big data and machine learning to predict exactly what stock is needed based on historic sales data, as well as outlying variables like the weather surrounding each individual store, nearby events and, in cases where the AI gets the prediction wrong, it can learn from its mistakes.

Add one more perk to Ikea's elegant, affordable selection of smart lighting products: you can soon control them with your voice. The Swedish furniture giant revealed Wednesday it will add support for digital voice assistants such as Google Assistant, Amazon's Alexa, and Apple's Siri via the Home app. The voice feature will roll out during the summer into early fall. Ikea launched the TRÅDFRI line of smart products last year in North America and Europe, billing it as a low-cost way to add to smart home tech. According to Ikea's website, a gateway kit featuring two bulbs, remote control, and a gateway to access broadband Internet costs $79.99, while dimming kits go for roughly $27.

By some estimates, 80% of an organization's data is unstructured content. This content includes web pages, call center transcripts, surveys, feedback forms, legal documents, forums, social media, and blog articles. Therefore, organizations must analyze not just transactional information but also textual content to gain insight and boost performance. A powerful way to analyze this textual content is by using text mining. Text mining typically applies machine learning techniques such as clustering, classification, association rules and predictive modeling.

Even though my work often mystified you, you and Dad have been my biggest fans throughout my over 25-year data management career. Not surprising, as you were both dental professionals, not data professionals! But as you started hearing about data in the media more and more, your interest piqued to better understand it. I've thoroughly enjoyed writing my letters to you over the past few years covering a range of topics including Data management, Metadata, and Data Governance, as well as several industry trends like Big Data, the Internet of Things, Cloud computing and my last letter discussing Digital Transformation. I know you've heard the term AI before.

Robots have already cost millions of factory jobs across the nation. Next up could be jobs at your local stores. Between 6 million to 7.5 million existing jobs are at risk of being replaced over the course of the next 10 years by some form of automation, according to a new study this week from by financial services firm Cornerstone Capital Group. That represents at least 38% of the current retail work force, which consists of 16 million workers. Retail could actually lose a greater proportion of jobs to automation than manufacturing has, according to the study.

New and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and cognitive computing – underpinned by Big Data and advanced data analytics – could completely transform the shopping experience as we know it. While still in its infancy in South Africa, a handful of retailers are testing some pretty cool technologies in an attempt to improve the shopping experience and better serve their customers. World Wide Worx found that online shopping in South Africa is expected to reach just 1% of overall retail spend in 2016, constrained by challenges such as high data costs, a lack of trust in e-commerce and a large unbanked population who do not have the means to transact online. The adage that online is killing the brick-and-mortar store might be true for more developed markets, but, for now, South Africans still flock to the more than 2 000 shopping malls across the country, limiting their online activities to window shopping and price comparison. If this trend continues, then South Africans could be in for a real treat when these new technologies make it to our shores.

Artificial intelligence development has seen an "amazing renaissance" and is beginning to solve problems that were once seen as science fiction, according to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Machine learning, machine vision, and natural language processing are all strands of AI that are being developed by technology giants such as Amazon, Alphabet's Google and Facebook for various uses. For example, Amazon's voice assistant Alexa, which is in its Echo speaker, relies on natural language processing – the ability for computers to understand human speech. These AI developments were praised by the Amazon founder. "It is a renaissance, it is a golden age," Bezos told an audience at the Internet Association's annual gala last week. "We are now solving problems with machine learning and artificial intelligence that were … in the realm of science fiction for the last several decades.

Google is announcing a major update to its store visits measurement tool today at its Google Marketing Next conference. Google has used anonymized location and contextual data since 2014 to estimate brick and mortar store visits spurred by online ads. The company is augmenting its existing models with deep learning to bring insights to even more customers. Omnichannel marketing is as big of a buzzword as they come. As obnoxious as the term is, the problem it underscores is a serious one for marketers.

Are brands ready for mixed reality? The answer is a resounding no! Fortunately, there's still time left to prepare for one of the biggest digital transformations of all time. Reports suggest that a collection of the world's leading tech companies, including Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, Huawei, LG, Acer, Intel, Meta, Magic Leap, and ODG are all planning to double down on mixed reality (MR) this year by bringing affordable devices to the masses. In particular, excitement continues to grow over speculation that Apple may be ready to unveil its MR device in the coming months to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone. Tim Cook has recently made bold statements about augmented reality (AR), indicating his company will have a major horse in the race.

Last month, IKEA launched its own line of low-cost smart lighting, called TRÅDFRI, and up until now, users have had to rely on a remote control or a proprietary app to use the product. Today, the Swedish retailer announced that their IKEA Home Smart products will respond to voice commands from Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant starting this summer. Additionally, the product line will integrate with Apple's HomeKit. "With IKEA Home Smart we challenge everything that is complicated and expensive with the connected home. Making our products work with others on the market takes us one step closer to meet people's needs, making it easier to interact with your smart home products," said IKEA Home Smart's business leader Björn Block.