What are Neural Networks?

The way human brain processes information is how Artificial

Neural Networks (ANN) bases its assimilation of data. The brain
has neurons process information in the form of electric signals.
In the same way, ANN receives input of information through
several processors that operate in parallel and are arranged in
tiers.
The raw data is received by the first tier, which is processed
through interconnected nodes, having their own rules and
packages of knowledge.
The processor passes it on to the next tier as output. All such
successive tier of processors receives the output from its
predecessor; therefore, raw data isn’t processed every time.
The Neural Networks modify themselves as they are self-learning
after processing additional information. Each link between nodes
is associated with weights.
A preference is put on the input stream with higher weight. The
higher the weight of the unit, the more influence it has on another.
It helps in reducing predictable errors, and it is done through a
gradient descent algorithm.
Neural networks modify themselves as they learn from their
robust initial training and then from ongoing self-learning that they
experience by processing additional information. A simple learning
model applied by neural networks is the process of weighting
input streams in favor of those most likely to be accurate. That
means a preference is put on the input streams that have a higher
weight; and the higher the weight, the more influence that unit has
on another. The process of reducing predictable errors through
weight is done through gradient descent algorithms. Finally,
output units are the end part of the process; this is where the
network responds to the data that was put in initially, and can now
be processed.

Use of Artificial Neural Networks in Business

Companies now understand that data that they possess can help
them provide information when it comes to decision making.
Businesses are leveraging neural networks to utilize the benefits
of data streams.
ANNs have the ability to learn and model non-linear relationships.
Unlike other prediction techniques, it doesn’t impose restrictions
on input variables.
Here’s how industries and organizations apply neural networks to
gain an advantage:
1. Forecasting of Data
Traditionally forecasting models have limitations to data, and such
problems are complex. If ANN is applied correctly, ANNs
forecasts without such limitations, as its modeling ability is able to
define relationships and extract unseen features.
2. Character – Image Recognition
Since ANN can take a multitude of inputs and can process them
in complex non-linear relationships, this makes them ideally
positioned for character recognition, such as handwriting. This
can, in turn, be used as a fraud detector. The same goes for
image recognition – for facial recognition on social media, cancer
detection in the field of healthcare, and satellite imagery for
agriculture.  
Artificial Neural Networks for Data Mining
Neural networks help in mining data in various sectors such as
banking, retail, and bioinformatics. Finding information that is
hidden in the data is challenging but at the same time, necessary.
Data warehousing organizations can use neural networks to
harvest information from data sets.
This helps users to make more informed decisions through neural
networks. ANNs can carry out business tasks with structured
data. They can range from tracking and documenting real-time
communications to finding new leads or potential customers.
As a matter of fact, until recently, decision-makers relied on
extracted data from organized data sets. Even though these are
easier to analyze, they don’t offer a more in-depth insight as the
unstructured data does.
Neural networks provide information such as looking into the ‘why’
of a particular customer’s behavior.
Let’s take a look at real-life examples of Artificial neural network’s
applications in Data Mining:
 1. Healthcare
Neural networks analyzed 100,000 records of patients who were
in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and it learned to apply
experience to diagnose the ideal course of treatment. 99% of
these recommendations matched and sometimes improved a
doctor’s decision.
 2. Social Media
Business and employment-oriented website in LinkedIn use
neural networks to pick up spam or abusive content. LinkedIn also
uses it to understand all kinds of content shared, so they can build
a better recommendation and search parameter for their
members.
Conclusion
Thanks to their ability to model non-linear processes, artificial
neural networks are becoming a more trusted and useful tool.
Issues such as classification, clustering, regressions, and pattern
recognition are unstructured data. They are getting resolved
easily, and it is making it easier for decision-makers to gauge the
way forward. Furthermore, they can make more calculated strides
towards the future of their business.