IBM has offered up the Jeopardy-ruling Watson to businesses in need of some high-caliber analytics and now the results of some of the supercomputer's data crunching are returning rave reviews from organizations in various sectors.
IBM recently released Watson Analytics, a freemium service that allows businesses of all sizes to leverage the power of machine learning and analytics. The results the supercomputer churns out are storyboarded in such a way that organizations can forgo a team of data scientists to make sense of the information.
The bottom tier of the supercomputer's services are free, a move IBM said it hopes will help companies learn to love the power of analytics and eventually upgrade to one of the premium tiers. Mike Rhodin, senior vice president of IBM's Watson Group, says the supercomputer is pushing forward the evolution of how businesses operate.
"Watson is bringing forward a new era of computing, enabling organizations around the globe to launch new businesses, redefine markets and transform industries," says Rhodin. "Watson is fueling a new market and ecosystem of clients, partners, developers, venture capitalists, universities and students. The next great innovations will come from people who are able to make connections that others don't see and Watson is making possible."
IBM began promoting Watson's analytics abilities last month, but the supercomputer's machine-learning capabilities have been available to organizations since January 2014. Since then, organizations of various industries around the world have been taking advantage Watson's cognitive computing powers.
In Thailand, Bumrungrad International Hospital has been working to leverage Watson's power in oncology and case evaluations for cancer warriors. Bumrungrad, the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia, will use IBM Watson for Oncology, developed with Memorial Sloan Kettering, a leading cancer center, to help Bumrungrad doctors plan the most effective treatments for cancer patients.
At Australia's Deakin University, the supercomputer's super brain is being used to develop an online adviser for students. And at Metropolitan Health in South Africa, the insurer will use Watson Engagement Advisor to provide personalized, outcome-based health and wellness services to its 3 million customers.
Watson is also empowering app development, serving up its super computing powers to mobile software via the cloud. In London, app developer Red Ant has been using Watson's cognitive computing abilities to help sales associates profile customers and determine the best products to offer. At LifeLearn in Guelph, Canada, developers use Watson to curate crowd-sourced information on animal treatments and feed the data to veterinarians.
"These innovators, embodying the entrepreneurial spirit, are transforming the ways industry and individuals operate harnessing the power of Watson's cognitive intellect and creating outcomes once thought impossible to achieve," said Stephen Gold, vice president of the IBM Watson Group. "This marks an important milestone for the Watson Ecosystem as we empower organizations to use next-generation technology, using information as the cognitive fuel, to help solve formidable challenges across industries."
