Looking to get hyperpersonal with customers? Better get AI

Technology breakthroughs always seem to come with a warning. The caution on big data from the experts was it's not about the data: i.e., it's pointless to collect big data unless you're going to analyze it -- and get some quantifiable business gain for your efforts. But today, making hay on big data is no longer just about the analytics. Companies chasing the next competitive edge will need to be hyperpersonal, and that will require speed and compute power. "If you're not able to create innovations to market in a timely, quick, effective way, then all of the technology is useless," Alfred Essa said at the recent Spark Summit East in Boston, Mass.