What Does Algorithmic Business Really Mean, Anyway?

Tomorrow's companies are going to rely on algorithms more than ever before, the firm said in its latest research note, which could lead to business models that morph and change automatically. It all sounds like something from science fiction, but what does it really mean? An algorithm is simply a set of instructions to follow when completing a process. Every piece of software is algorithmic, meaning that business has been using algorithms since the launch of the LEO I, so we might well ask why the term is being bandied about so breathlessly now. Whereas businesses used software logic in discrete ways to automate certain processes, in the new model algorithms become a more central part of the business, making decisions that couldn't easily be reached without them, and then even taking action on them automatically.