•
How to Get Started with Machine Learning
Our world consists of humans and machines (and plants, and animals, and all other sorts of wonderful things). While humans learn from experiences, machines need regular instructions to perform tasks. Computers – however – can do both.
What is Machine Learning?
Machine Learning (ML) is considered a facet of artificial intelligence, it focuses on the use of data and algorithms to imitate the way that humans learn, gradually improving its accuracy and decision making with minimal human intervention. For business optimization, this means you use the best of both worlds: human and machine intelligence.
Here’s a quick example… All businesses have bills to pay – so let’s look high level at an accounts payable process in a sizeable business. AP is a high volume, repeatable process that traditionally has several people touching, coding, and inputting every incoming invoice. With Machine Learning, that process can be transformed. Taking a high-touch effort from a team and turning into an automated, intelligent inputting process with a person supervising the automation and only jumping in at key stages or managing the unexpected occurrences.
Machine Learning is an Investment …but it can transform your business.
Machine Learning is not a magic wand for your business, but it is a solution. There’s no denying it – there is an upfront effort (and cost) to implement. But, like adding a new hire to your business, ML develops and matures, becomes more independent, and adds unique value to the operation.
How to Get Started with Machine Learning?
Many aren’t sure where to even start with ML technology and usually wonder if it’s the right technology for them— the key here is starting somewhere. Our recommendation: 1) keep an open mind and 2) start with a little brainstorm activity with a mix of disciplines from across your organization.
7 Questions to Get a Machine Learning Brainstorm Going:
- Where are the bottlenecks in our business?
- Where do our people make repetitive decisions that could be automated?
- What is the data that our people normally search for, collect, or extract manually from databases and could this effort be automated?
- What is the typical set of decisions our people make? Could these decisions be made through Machine Learning if the data was fed into it?
- What parts of our customer interactions are handled by people that could potentially be customized by a machine?
- Could a computer personalize the experience for a customer based on their interactions with our website, app, or product?
- What are the decisions our customers are making everyday? Can we automate any of those decisions based on some knowledge we already have?
Where Do You Go from Here? Maybe Convverge can help!
Today, most business don’t have the person on their team who knows the ins and out of integrating Machine Learning. That’s where Convverge, experts in business process automation and a Microsoft Consulting Partner, will help build a bridge between your team and new technology ideas. We’re a team of IT consultants that add horsepower to your team. We help you uncover what is possible and doable in your business. Our team loves consulting on new technology and aims to help companies drive change, digitally transform, and realize their full potential. Contact us today – we would love to help.
