Moving people and cargo around the globe, safely and on time, is a logistical challenge that draws on vast amounts of data. This data is a powerful but under-leveraged resource that can be put to greater use with artificial intelligence (AI). Think more efficient fleets, better route and capacity planning, and smoother passenger bookings and deliveries when faced with potential service disruptions. You may have heard the terms analytics, advanced analytics, machine learning and AI. AI is often built from machine-learning algorithms, which owe their effectiveness to training data. The more high-quality data available for training, the smarter the machine will be.

For the last five years, IBM has strived to reinvent itself as a cloud computing and cognitive platform company to support its large enterprise clients as they shift their operations online, including many in travel and transportation. With most large companies today evolving into digital companies, cloud computing is a booming marketplace for the big four industry providers: IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. Google, for example, stated that cloud could overtake advertising revenue in five years. Travel companies like Etihad and Lufthansa are helping drive IBM's cloud sales. The UAE carrier signed a 700 million IT deal with IBM last October, while Germany's national airline invested 1.25 billion in Big Blue in November 2014 to integrate cloud computing. Cognitive, on the other hand, is IBM's wild child savant compared to its older cloud sibling.