Machine learning is a rapidly growing technology with which data can be transformed into valuable knowledge. As machine learning improves exponentially over the next decade, it will transform every industry and have a similar impact on the global economy to the introduction of the Internet. Companies which act quickly to embrace this evolution will place themselves at the forefront of their industries. Those that don’t are destined to fall behind. With the machine learning revolution gathering pace, now is the time for companies in all industries to begin looking at how to position themselves to thrive in this brave new world. 

Machine learning will transform all industries with tools that become more powerful as more data is fed into them. Every business can benefit from jumping onboard the machine learning bandwagon. Here are five reasons that every business needs to embrace machine learning, along with the steps they can take to ready themselves for it.

1. THE REVOLUTION HAS ALREADY STARTED

Digital assistants have already become commonplace in everyday life. They’re built into all new smart phones, with Google Assistant on Android platforms and Siri on Apple iPhones. Amazon has sold 11 million Echo units equipped with their digital assistant, Alexa. In a decade, these are likely to be viewed as primitive first steps, in the way huge 1980s cellphones are laughed at today. As machine learning gathers pace, the functionality of these devices will improve beyond all recognition.

Machine learning is creating a huge buzz in Silicon Valley. Data science degrees have quickly established themselves as one of the qualifications with the highest earning potentials. Google acquired Kaggle for an undisclosed amount in March 2017, seeing enormous potential in this platform on which data scientists enter machine learning competitions. More than 1,900 startups have already entered the machine learning market, with an average pre-money valuation of over $5 million. Growth in big data spending is outstripping even the most optimistic expectations, increasing from $28 billion in 2012, to an expected $150 billion in 2017.

These incredible statistics show the value cutting-edge brands perceive in machine learning’s potential to turn big data into actionable information. Within the next 10 years, machine learning will be firmly established as one of the most lucrative forms of technology.

2. COMPANIES WHO ACT QUICKLY CAN GAIN AN UNASSAILABLE ADVANTAGE

Recent history shows that businesses who don’t embrace technological change are destined to fail. The music industry tried to clamp down on file sharing, instead of harnessing the potential of new forms of technology. Newcomers such as Spotify and Pandora have taken control of the marketplace and massively eaten into record companies’ profits, while some of today’s biggest recording artists have chosen to bypass record companies altogether. Video rental stores and cable companies have been fated to obsolescence while Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime have taken control of the home entertainment market.

Machine learning can provide insights into customer behaviors and desires that will allow companies to seize control of their marketplace. Businesses which embrace machine learning will be more adaptive to new trends. They also will be able to pursue new profit-enhancing strategies while making their business models more efficient and increasing profit margins. 

3. MACHINE LEARNING HAS LIMITLESS POTENTIAL

Consumers now exist within a sphere in which data is gathered on their every action. The potential for machine learning to generate value from this data is unlimited.

For example, imagine you are running a chain of coffee shops. Your customers install an app which provides them with discounts or acts as a loyalty card. The app records your customers’ location data. Imagine a customer visits one of your coffee shops a few times each week but has a job which takes them to a different city on other days. Advanced machine learning could recognize this pattern in your customer’s behavior and suggest they visit another branch near this second location.

The above example is just scratching the surface of what machine learning is capable of. When the first iPhone was released, Steve Jobs recognized its potential to change the world, but it would have been impossible for him to know the exact breadth of apps which would eventually become available for it. Similarly, while it’s currently possible to speculate about the potential of machine learning, it’s impossible to guess all that it will eventually be capable of.

4. MACHINE LEARNING COULD IMPROVE EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR BUSINESS

Machine learning’s potential to revolutionize your business isn’t restricted to customer behavior. Intelligent machine learning technology could automate many tasks that currently require human input. It could streamline your business and identify areas to make big gains in efficiency. It could analyze the marketplace and the actions of your competitors and help you develop new strategies for strengthening your company’s position.

In short, machine learning will revolutionize every facet of your business. It’s likely that once machine learning begins reaching its full potential, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

5. THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW

If you want to position your company at the forefront of the machine learning revolution, you should begin planning for it immediately. Once your competitors have started incorporating machine learning into their business model, it will already be too late.

How can you get your company ready for the brave new world promised by advanced machine learning? You can begin by collating all the data that’s available to you. Machine learning is entirely data driven, so there’s value in every scrap of data about your business, its customers and the wider industry. You should start analyzing and acting on this data. If your business is big enough to support it, you should consider hiring a data science. You can then start thinking about how to make your approach to doing business more data driven. Once a data-driven business structure is in place, you can begin outsourcing data analysis work to burgeoning machine learning tools.

Data-driven machine learning will affect companies of all sizes equally. It promises to be a revolution comparable to the introduction of the computer to the workplace. Businesses that jump on the bandwagon now could reap huge benefits from machine learning in the near future. Those that don’t will be left behind.