Machine learning can boost IoT efficacy

A new report from Forrester advises CIOs to leverage machine learning to turn the tsunami of data obtained in Internet of Things (IoT) deployments into actionable insights. Successful companies in the industrial sector that are doing this are not only predicting problems and opportunities before they occur, but are also developing new revenue streams during their digital transformation. Large volumes of data are required to train and then exploit machine learning algorithms, and fortunately that data is now easily accessible, especially as IoT gains traction in industries. According to Forrester's Paul Miller, senior analyst serving CIO professionals and lead author of the report, "Put Data to Work in the Industrial Internet of Things," machine learning is becoming a powerful tool in efforts to win, serve, and retain customers. "It's easy to focus on automating or augmenting existing processes with IoT, and this can deliver real cost savings and efficiency gains. But the bigger opportunity is using IoT and machine learning to drive entirely new business models, with far-reaching implications for the way in which your products are built, sold, used, and maintained," explains Miller in the report.