Companies Are Reimagining Business Processes with Algorithms

In the early 1990s, executives and managers welcomed information technology -- databases, PC workstations, and automated systems -- into their offices. They saw the potential for significant business gains. Computers wouldn't just speed up processes or automate certain tasks -- they could upset nearly all business processes and allow executives to rethink operations from the ground up. And so the reengineering movement was born. Powerful machine-learning algorithms that adapt through experience and evolve in intelligence with exposure to data are driving changes in businesses that would have been impossible to imagine just five years ago.