Australian Energy Giant Uses Machine Learning to Predict Catastrophes

Big data can't deliver on its potential unless enterprises have the right tools to extract insights. Woodside, an Australia-based oil and gas giant, realizes this and is using advanced machine learning technology to leverage its data via predictive analysis. Front and center in the company's toolkit is IBM Watson, a cutting-edge machine learning and natural language processing platform that analyzes vast amounts of unstructured data. According to CIO, Woodside is using a variety of big data tools -- including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apache Spark and Watson -- to improve operational efficiency and predict potential catastrophes at its production facilities. Elsa Jordan, principal data scientist at Woodside, told attendees of the Chief Analytics Officer Forum in Sydney how the company has implemented these data science technologies in recent years and how the Watson engine has become a key component of the organization's big data platform.