KCES’s College of Engineering and Management, Jalgaon

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT
Study Material
SUB: 302 Management Information System
Unit IV Trends in MIS

1) ERP – Introduction, features, advantages, Implementing ERP System

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning.

ERP systems are the kind of software tools which are used to manage the data of an enterprise. ERP
system helps different organizations to deal with different departments of an enterprise. Different
departments like receiving, inventory management, customer order management, production planning,
shipping, accounting, human resource management, and other business functions.

Basically, it is the practice of consolidating an enterprise’s planning, its manufacturing, its sales and
marketing efforts into one management system. It combines all databases across different departments
into a single database which can be easily accessible to all employees of that enterprise. It helps in
automation of the tasks involved in performing a business process.

Before an ERP system, there are different databases of different departments which they managed
by their own. The employees of one department does not know about anything about other
department.
After ERP

After ERP system, databases of different departments are managed by one system called ERP
system. It keep tracks of all the database within system. In this scenario, employee of one
department have information regarding the other departments.

Vendors of ERP :
1. Baan
2. JD Edwards
3. Oracle
4. PeopleSoft
5. SAP

Benefits of ERP:
1. This system helps in improving integration.
2. It is the flexible system.
3. There are fewer errors in this system.
4. This system improved speed and efficiency.
5. There is a complete access to information.
6. Lower total costs in complete supply chain.
7. This system helps in Shortening the throughput times.
8. There is sustained involvement and commitment of the top management.

Limitations of ERP:

ERP system has 3 significant limitations:

1. Managers generate custom reports or queries only with the help from a programmer and
this will create a problem that they did not receive information quickly, which is essential
for making a competitive advantage.
 2. There is no proper decision-making scenario i.e. this systems provide only the current
status, such as open orders. Whenever there is need to look for past status to find trends
and patterns it become difficult. That aid better decision-making.
3. No doubt that data is integrated within the system, but there is no integration of data with
other enterprise or division systems and it does not include external intelligence.

ERP Implementation

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is made to automate any task. With ERP, it is easy to manage
every department under one single database. This consumes not much time and is easy and fast way
to do work with. Developed in 1990s, Enterprise Resource Planning is foundation system for
domestic and global operations, supporting most or all functional areas in their daily operations. Is
one of the more common categories of business software, especially with large-scale businesses.
It is business strategy and set of industry-domain-specific applications that build customer and
shareholder communities value network system by enabling and optimizing enterprise and inter-
enterprise collaborative operational and financial processes. ERP at its core is an effective way of
centralizing information and workflow processes through data management. Because ERP keeps all
of your workflow data in one place.

Example:
Any enterprise’s planning, manufacturing, sales and marketing efforts are put under one management
system and then it combines to one single database system.

Different phases of ERP Implementation :

1. Pre-evaluation screening :
This phase starts when company decides to go for ERP system. For this, search for package
starts. It is time-consuming process because every package has to analyze first before
reaching to any decision. As all packages are not same and each has its own strengths and
weakness. This process should eliminate those packages that are not suitable for company’s
business processes.
2. Package Evaluation :
It is the most important phase in implementation. This phase depends on success and failure
of entire project with package selection. Most important factor while selecting any package
is that not every package can be totally perfect for project but at-least it should be good fit
for project.
3. Project Planning Phase :
This phase plans and designs implementation process.
4. Gap Analysis :
It is the most crucial phase in this implementation. Here, gaps are analyzed between
company’s practices and that practices which are supported by ERP package. It has been
estimated that even best ERP package only meets 80-85% of company’s functional
requirements.
5. Re-engineering :
It is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve
improvements.
6. Customization :
It is the main functional area of ERP Implementation. Arrived solution must match with
overall goals of company. Prototype should allow for thorough testing and attempts to solve
logistical problem.
7. Implementation Team Training :
Now after above processes, implementation team knows how to implement system. This is
phase where company trains its employees to implement and later run system.
8. Testing :
This is the phase where team break system. Sometimes, system overloads or multiple users
trying to login at same time etc. Test cases are designed specifically to find weak links in
system. Different types of testing are: Unit testing, integration testing, acceptance testing,
security testing, performance and stress testing.
9. Going Live :
Once technical and functional side is properly working and testing is done. There comes next
phase i.e, “Going Live”. Once system is ‘live’, old system is removed & new system is used
for doing business.
10. End-User Training :
This is the phase where user of system is given training on how to use system. Employees
and their skills are identified and training is given to them in groups based on their current
skills. Every employee is provided with training of job which he is going to perform.
 11. Post-Implementation :
It is the most important and critical factor. Post Implementation is based on two words-
Operation and Maintenance of system. Duration of this phase depends on training efficiency.
Necessary enhancements & upgrades are made in this phase.

2) Data Mining – Meaning, Types, Advantages, Applications, Challenges

Data mining is a process used by companies to turn raw data into useful information. By using
software to look for patterns in large batches of data, businesses can learn more about their customers
to develop more effective marketing strategies, increase sales and decrease costs. Data mining depends
on effective data collection, warehousing, and computer processing.

• Data mining is the process of analyzing a large batch of information to discern trends and patterns.
• Data mining can be used by corporations for everything from learning about what customers are
interested in or want to buy to fraud detection and spam filtering.
• Data mining programs break down patterns and connections in data based on what information
users request or provide.
• Social media companies use data mining techniques to commodify their users in order to generate
profit.
• This use of data mining has come under criticism lately as users are often unaware of the data
mining happening with their personal information, especially when it is used to influence preferences.

Data Warehousing and Mining Software

Data mining programs analyze relationships and patterns in data based on what users request. For
example, a company can use data mining software to create classes of information. To illustrate,
imagine a restaurant wants to use data mining to determine when it should offer certain specials. It
looks at the information it has collected and creates classes based on when customers visit and what
they order.

In other cases, data miners find clusters of information based on logical relationships or look at
associations and sequential patterns to draw conclusions about trends in consumer behavior.

Warehousing is an important aspect of data mining. Warehousing is when companies centralize their
data into one database or program. With a data warehouse, an organization may spin off segments of
the data for specific users to analyze and use. However, in other cases, analysts may start with the data
they want and create a data warehouse based on those specs.

Data Mining Techniques

Data mining uses algorithms and various techniques to convert large collections of data into useful
output. The most popular types of data mining techniques include:

• Association rules, also referred to as market basket analysis, searches for relationships between
variables. This relationship in itself creates additional value within the data set as it strives to link
pieces of data. For example, association rules would search a company's sales history to see which
products are most commonly purchased together; with this information, stores can plan, promote, and
forecast accordingly.
• Classification uses predefined classes to assign to objects. These classes describe characteristics
of items or represent what the data points have in common with each. This data mining technique
allows the underlying data to be more neatly categorized and summarized across similar features or
product lines.
• Clustering is similar to classification. However, clustering identified similarities between objects,
then groups those items based on what makes them different from other items. While classification
may result in groups such as "shampoo", "conditioner", "soap", and "toothpaste", clustering may
identify groups such as "hair care" and "dental health".
• Decision trees are used to classify or predict an outcome based on a set list of criteria or decisions.
A decision tree is used to ask for input of a series of cascading questions that sort the dataset based on
responses given. Sometimes depicted as a tree-like visual, a decision tree allows for specific direction
and user input when drilling deeper into the data.
• K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) is an algorithm that classifies data based on its proximity to other
data. The basis for KNN is rooted in the assumption that data points that are close to each are more
similar to each other than other bits of data. This non-parametric, supervised technique is used to
predict features of a group based on individual data points.
• Neural networks process data through the use of nodes. These nodes is comprised of inputs,
weights, and an output. Data is mapped through supervised learning (similar to how the human brain
is interconnected). This model can be fit to give threshold values to determine a model's accuracy.
• Predictive analysis strives to leverage historical information to build graphical or mathematical
models to forecast future outcomes. Overlapping with regression analysis, this data mining technique
aims at supporting an unknown figure in the future based on current data on hand.

Applications of Data Mining

In today's age of information, it seems like almost every department, industry, sector, and company
can make use of data mining. Data mining is a vague process that has many different applications as
long as there is a body of data to analyze.
Sales
The ultimate goal of a company is to make money, and data mining encourages smarter, more efficient
use of capital to drive revenue growth. Consider the point-of-sale register at your favorite local coffee
shop. For every sale, that coffeehouse collects the time a purchase was made, what products were sold
together, and what baked goods are most popular. Using this information, the shop can strategically
craft its product line.

Marketing
Once the coffeehouse above knows its ideal line-up, it's time to implement the changes. However, to
make its marketing efforts more effective, the store can use data mining to understand where its clients
see ads, what demographics to target, where to place digital ads, and what marketing strategies most
resonate with customers. This includes aligning marketing campaigns, promotional offers, cross-sell
offers, and programs to findings of data mining.

Manufacturing
For companies that produce their own goods, data mining plays an integral part in analyzing how
much each raw material costs, what materials are being used most efficiently, how time is spent along
the manufacturing process, and what bottlenecks negatively impact the process. Data mining helps
ensure the flow of goods is uninterrupted and least costly.

Fraud Detection
The heart of data mining is finding patterns, trends, and correlations that link data points together.
Therefore, a company can use data mining to identify outliers or correlations that should not exist. For
example, a company may analyze its cash flow and find a reoccurring transaction to an unknown
account. If this is unexpected, the company may wish to investigate should funds be potentially
mismanaged.

Human Resources
Human resources often has a wide range of data available for processing including data on retention,
promotions, salary ranges, company benefits and utilization of those benefits, and employee
satisfaction surveys. Data mining can correlate this data to get a better understanding of why
employees leave and what entices recruits to join.

Customer Service
Customer satisfaction may be caused (or destroyed) for a variety of reasons. Imagine a company that
ships goods. A customer may become unhappy with ship time, shipping quality, or communication
on shipment expectations. That same customer may become frustrated with long telephone wait times
or slow e-mail responses. Data mining gathers operational information about customer interactions
and summarizes findings to determine weak points as well as highlights of what the company is doing
right.

Benefits of Data Mining

Data mining ensures a company is collecting and analyzing reliable data. It is often a more rigid,
structured process that formally identifies a problem, gathers data related to the problem, and strives
to formulate a solution. Therefore, data mining helps a business become more profitable, efficient, or
operationally stronger.

Data mining can look very different across applications, but the overall process can be used with
almost any new or legacy application. Essentially any type of data can be gathered and analyzed, and
almost every business problem that relies on qualifiable evidence can be tackled using data mining.

The end goal of data mining is to take raw bits of information and determine if there is cohesion or
correlation among the data. This benefit of data mining allows a company to create value with the
information they have on hand that would otherwise not be overly apparent. Though data models can
be complex, they can also yield fascinating results, unearth hidden trends, and suggest unique
strategies.

Limitations of Data Mining

This complexity of data mining is one of the largest disadvantages to the process. Data analytics often
requires technical skillsets and certain software tools. Some smaller companies may find this to be a
barrier of entry too difficult to overcome.

Data mining doesn't always guarantee results. A company may perform statistical analysis, make
conclusions based on strong data, implement changes, and not reap any benefits. Through inaccurate
findings, market changes, model errors, or inappropriate data populations, data mining can only guide
decisions and not ensure outcomes.

There is also a cost component to data mining. Data tools may require ongoing costly subscriptions,
and some bits of data may be expensive to obtain. Security and privacy concerns can be pacified,
though additional IT infrastructure may be costly as well. Data mining may also be most effective
when using huge data sets; however, these data sets must be stored and require heavy computational
power to analyze.
 3) Cloud Computing - Meaning, characteristics, Types, Advantages, Cloud Computing models

Cloud Computing?

According to ZDNet, “cloud computing is the delivery of on-demand computing services — from
applications to storage and processing power — typically over the internet and on a pay-as-you-go
basis.”

In simplest terms, the cloud refers to the internet. When organizations store data in virtual data centers
or access programs using an internet connection instead of relying on their device’s hard drive or on-
premises IT infrastructure, it means they are operating in the cloud.

Cloud computing can be as simple as “servers in a third-party data center” or entire serverless
workloads that are infinitely scalable and geo-redundant. Cloud servers and services are scalable and
elastic.

How does cloud computing work?

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing resources, such as IT infrastructure or data center over
the internet. This model allows businesses to rent storage space or access software programs from a
cloud service provider, instead of building and maintaining their own IT infrastructure or data center.
One major benefit of using cloud computing services is that companies pay only for the resources they
use.

To better understand its technical aspects, cloud computing processes can be divided into frontend and
backend. The frontend component allows users to access data and programs stored in the cloud through
an internet browser or by using a cloud computing application. The backend consists of servers,
computers and databases that store the data.

History of cloud computing

According to Technology Review, the phrase “cloud computing” was first mentioned in 1996 in a
Compaq internal document.

The year 1999 was a milestone for cloud computing when Salesforce became the first company to
deliver enterprise applications over the internet. This was also the beginning of Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS).
In 2002, Amazon launched Amazon Web Services (AWS), which was another significant development
in cloud computing. Its suite of cloud-based services included storage, computation and even human
intelligence. In 2006, Amazon launched Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), allowing businesses as well as
individuals to rent virtual computers and run their own computer applications.

The year 2009 saw yet another giant milestone in cloud computing as Google Workspace (now Google
Workspace) started to provide browser-based enterprise applications. In the same year, Microsoft
entered the cloud computing arena with Microsoft Azure, and soon companies
like Oracle and HP followed suit.

Examples of Cloud Computing:

Cloud computing includes everything from virtual machines to databases to entire serverless
applications. Some examples of cloud computing include:

Salesforce: Salesforce.com is a SaaS provider that specializes in customer relationship management

(CRM). The company provides enterprise applications to help align marketing, sales, customer
services, etc., and allows users to work from anywhere.

DigitalOcean: This company is a New York-based Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider for

software developers. Businesses use DigitalOcean to deploy and scale applications that run
simultaneously across multiple cloud servers.

Microsoft Azure: Microsoft Azure is a fine example of a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that supports
the entire application development lifecycle, right from development to deployment and beyond. Azure
provides a plethora of tools, languages and frameworks to developers.

Dropbox: Dropbox is a cloud-based file hosting service that allows users to store and sync files to their
devices so they can access them from anywhere. It also allows users to share large files, including
images and videos via the internet, facilitating effective collaboration.

Importance of Cloud Computing

Before cloud computing came into existence, companies were required to download applications or
programs on their physical PCs or on-premises servers to be able to use them. For any organization,
building and managing its own IT infrastructure or data centers is a huge challenge. Even for those who
own their own data centers, allocating a large number of IT administrators and resources is a struggle.
 The introduction of cloud computing and virtualization was a paradigm shift in the history of the
technology industry. Rather than creating and managing their own IT infrastructure and paying for
servers, power and real estate, etc., cloud computing allows businesses to rent computing resources
from cloud service providers. This helps businesses avoid paying heavy upfront costs and the
complexity of managing their own data centers. By renting cloud services, companies pay only for
what they use such as computing resources and disk space. This allows companies to anticipate costs
with greater accuracy.

Since cloud service providers do the heavy lifting of managing and maintaining the IT infrastructure,
it saves a lot of time, effort and money for businesses. The cloud also gives organizations the ability to
seamlessly upscale or downscale their computing infrastructure as and when needed. Compared to the
traditional on-premises data center model, the cloud offers easy access to data from anywhere and on
any device with internet connectivity, thereby enabling effective collaboration and enhanced
productivity.

Uses of Cloud Computing

From startups to large corporations and government agencies, every organization uses the cloud to
access technology services to streamline workflows, improve communication, productivity, service
delivery and more. Listed below are some of the most common uses of cloud computing.

• Storage: One of the most common uses of cloud computing is file storage. While there are several
options to store and access data, such as hard drives on PCs, external hard drives, USB drives, etc.,
cloud storage enables businesses to seamlessly access data from anywhere and on any device with an
internet connection. Cloud storage services like Amazon S3, DropBox or OneDrive provide secure
access to data and also allows businesses to upscale and downscale storage space based on their
requirements.
• Database: Cloud database is another popular business use case. IBM defines cloud database as “a
database service built and accessed through a cloud platform.” A cloud database delivers most of the
same functionalities as a traditional database, but with additional benefits such as flexibility, cost
savings, failover support, specialized expertise and more.
• Web applications: Web applications are a must-have tool for businesses today. Powered by cloud
technology, anyone can access web-based apps using a web browser, providing instant remote access
to information. This allows business professionals to communicate with customers and provide them
with required information while they’re on the go, and helps them collaborate with colleagues from
anywhere.
• Collaboration: Due to its easy accessibility, integration, flexibility, security and ease of use, cloud-
based tools, such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, have become the obvious choice for
businesses looking to collaborate both internally across departments and externally with clients. Gmail,
Google docs, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Teams, etc., are powerful business tools designed
to enhance collaboration and productivity.
• SaaS applications: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, such as Salesforce, allow businesses to
store, organize and maintain data, as well as automate marketing and manage clients efficiently. SaaS
solutions are highly functional and do not require software and/or hardware management.

Types of Cloud Computing.

There are four main types of cloud computing: public, private, hybrid and multicloud.

Public cloud

VMware defines public cloud as “an IT model where on-demand computing services and infrastructure
are managed by a third-party provider and shared with multiple organizations using the public internet.”
Cloud service providers offer various services like Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-
Service (PaaS) and SaaS to individuals and businesses who rent these services on a monthly or pay-
per-use basis. Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba
Cloud and IBM Cloud are the top five cloud providers.

Private cloud

A private cloud or an internal cloud is where the IT infrastructure (hardware and software resources)
is solely dedicated to a single organization, unlike a public cloud where the computing resources are
shared among multiple tenants. A private cloud environment is ideal for businesses for whom meeting
regulatory requirements, security and control are a priority. Traditionally, a private cloud is hosted at a
company’s data center and uses its own hardware. However, an organization may outsource hosting to
a third-party provider who remotely manages the computing resources.

Hybrid cloud

A hybrid cloud is a combination of both public cloud and private cloud environments. Businesses use
this model to supplement their compute capacity. When the capacity of a private cloud reaches its peak,
businesses can leverage public cloud to enhance the capabilities of the private cloud. Hybrid cloud
enables businesses to scale compute capacity up or down depending on the traffic or service demands.
This eliminates the need to purchase and maintain new servers, allowing businesses to save cost, time
and effort.

Multicloud

Multicloud is the practice of using a combination of clouds — two or more public or private clouds, or
a combination of both, from several cloud providers. A multicloud approach allows businesses to select
the best services from different cloud vendors based on their budgets, technical requirements,
geographic locations and so on. This model enables businesses to use different clouds for different
purposes. For instance, an organization can use one cloud for software development and testing, another
cloud for data backup and disaster recovery, and other for data analytics.

Types of Cloud Computing Services

The three types of cloud computing services are Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-
Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

IaaS is a cloud computing service where cloud providers deliver and manage virtualized computing
infrastructure over the internet. Instead of creating an in-house IT infrastructure, businesses can access
essential resources, such as operating systems, networking, storage space, development tools, etc., on
demand. This saves hardware and software costs as well as minimizes the burden of IT staff.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

PaaS allows businesses to concentrate on the development, deployment and management of software
applications and services without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure since cloud
providers do the heavy lifting. With PaaS, developers and programmers gain access to not only IT
infrastructure but also application/software platform and solution stack. Some of the examples of PaaS
include AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Google App Engine and Microsoft Azure.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

SaaS provides businesses with ready-to-use software that is delivered to users over the internet. All of
the underlying infrastructure, including hardware, software, data storage, patch management and
hardware/software updates, are managed by SaaS providers. SaaS is a subscription-based model, which
requires businesses to subscribe to the services they want to use. Users can access SaaS applications
directly through web browsers, which eliminates the need to download or install them. SaaS allows
 users to access web-based solutions from anywhere and at any time with an active internet connection.
Some popular SaaS solutions include Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Salesforce.

Benefits of Cloud Computing.

Cloud computing enables businesses to operate from virtually anywhere and with more efficiency.
Some benefits of cloud computing include:

• Cost savings: One of the greatest benefits of cloud computing is reduced costs. Since businesses do
not need to build their own IT infrastructure or purchase hardware or equipment, it helps companies
reduce capital expenses significantly.
• Flexibility/scalability: Cloud computing offers greater flexibility to businesses of all sizes. Whether
they require extra bandwidth, computing power or storage space, they can seamlessly scale up or down
computing resources depending on their needs and budget.
• Security: Data security is a major concern for businesses today. Cloud vendors provide advanced
security features like authentication, access management, data encryption, etc., to ensure sensitive data
in the cloud is securely handled and stored.
• Mobility: Cloud computing allows users to access corporate data from any device, anywhere and at
any time, using the internet. With information conveniently available, employees can remain
productive even on the go.
• Increased collaboration: Cloud applications allow businesses to seamlessly communicate and
securely access and share information, making collaboration simple and hassle-free. Cloud computing
empowers multiple users to edit documents or work on files simultaneously and in a transparent
manner.
• Disaster recovery: Data loss and downtime can cause irreparable damage to businesses of any size.
Major cloud vendors are well-equipped to withstand unforeseen disruptive events, such as
hardware/software failure, natural disasters and power outages, to ensure high application availability
and business continuity.
• Automatic updates: Performing manual organization-wide software updates can take up a lot of
valuable IT staff time. However, with cloud computing, service providers regularly refresh and update
systems with the latest technology to provide businesses with up-to-date software versions, latest
servers and upgraded processing power.
 Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

The advantages of operating in the cloud are immense. However, there are certain disadvantages that
companies should be aware of before deciding to transition to the cloud. Listed below are the top five
disadvantages of cloud computing.

1. Downtime: Since cloud computing systems are completely reliant on the internet, without an active
internet connection, businesses cannot access the data or applications hosted in the cloud. Google
suffered three severe outages in 2020 that affected the majority of its services and users across the
globe.
2. Vendor lock-in: Migrating a company’s workloads and services from one cloud provider to another is
a major challenge in cloud computing. Differences between cloud environments may cause
compatibility or integration issues. If the transition isn’t handled properly, it could expose an
organization’s data to unnecessary security vulnerabilities.
3. Limited control: Since the cloud infrastructure is wholly owned and managed by the cloud vendor,
businesses using cloud computing services have limited control over their data, applications and
services. Therefore, it’s important to have a proper end-user license agreement (EULA) in place to
understand what a business can do and can’t do within a cloud infrastructure.
4. Security: One of the major concerns of storing a company’s sensitive data in the cloud is security.
Although cloud service providers implement advanced security measures, storing confidential files on
remote servers that are entirely owned and operated by a third party always opens up security risks.
When an organization adopts a cloud computing model, the IT security responsibility is shared between
the cloud vendor and the user. As such, each party is responsible for the assets, processes and functions
they control.
5. Data loss or theft: Storing crucial data in virtual data centers can open the doors to a variety of risks
that could lead to data loss, such as cloud misconfiguration, information theft, security breach, stolen
credentials, etc. Moreover, cloud service providers, such as Microsoft and Google, follow a shared
responsibility model, where the vendor assumes responsibility for application availability and
everything that entails, while the customer retains responsibility for application data, administration
and user management.
 4) AI – Introduction, Application, types

The definition of Artificial Intelligence says: “Description In computer science, artificial intelligence,
sometimes called machine intelligence, is intelligence demonstrated by machines. In contrast to the natural
intelligence displayed by humans.” Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the induction of human intelligence
in computers. Which are experts to think like humans and imitate their behavior. Additionally, the word
may also refer to any computer that displays human mind-like characteristics. Such as learning and
problem-solving based on that learning.

Above all, AI is the technology that makes machines “think”. Also, it enables them to do tasks like humans
do. It is not remembering data and process it as common programs do. It is enabling machines to think on
their own and make logical decisions about things like humans do. The common technologies or algorithms
that make AI possible are listed below. Anything that doesn’t use these high-level algorithms can’t be
regarded as AI.

• Machine Learning
• Deep Learning
• Neural Networks
• Bayesian networks
• Evolutionary algorithms

Artificial Intelligence Background

Before we move on to discover the various types and applications of artificial intelligence, we need to visit
the world of Alan Turing and more specifically the Turing Test; a method of inquiry.

Long before AI was a commonly used term in the world. Alan Turing had made a proposition that
highlighted that the criteria for a computer to qualify as having artificial
intelligence would simply be whether or not it could mimic human responses under specific conditions.

The test places a human observer or judge at the center of it all and asks it to decide the “human” out of the
two candidates (one of which is a computer). If the judge points to the computer as the human candidate. It
means that the computer did indeed have artificial intelligence. Since it was able to present
itself convincingly as a human to a blind judge.
While this test has its own set of problems with validity and even with the method of performance. It does
not do away with the fact that with the right training and programming. Computers can gain accurate
knowledge and data. This can be useful to assist humans across a variety of forms/arenas.
Types of Artificial Intelligence

The following can also be thought of as stages of AI through which AI is evolving and finally reach the
stage like human intelligence. We discuss the three most common types of Artificial Intelligence below.

1. Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI)

Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI), also known as Narrow AI or Weak AI. It is a form of Artificial
Intelligence that performs one narrow range or a single task. It has a limited spectrum of capabilities. For
now, this is the AI that exists largely today. A machine that possesses ANI doesn’t mean it is dumb. Instead,
it means it can work with a small amount of data than humans do.

2. Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

When the term AI comes to mind, it generally refers to AGI. If an Artificial Intelligence system is
designed to completely emulate human intelligence and behavior. We call it Artificial General Intelligence.
Moreover, some scientists also like to call it Strong AI and Full AI. Simply put, it is the Artificial
Intelligence System that can function and make similar decisions to humans.

3. Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI)

Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) is the conceptual AI, often termed as Super AI, that not only imitates
human intelligence and behavior. It is the stage where computers are self-conscious and exceed human
intelligence and ability. Also, replicating human beings’ multifaceted intellect. ASI would be far stronger
at everything we do like maths, science, art, sports, medicine. Moreover, entertainment, interpersonal
relationships, everything. Ultimately, super-intelligent beings’ decision-making and problem-solving
capacities would be far superior to human beings.

Types Of AI Applications

The following are some of the major applications of artificial intelligence that are currently in use.

1. Knowledge reasoning

Knowledge representation and reasoning in the field of artificial intelligence are dedicated to representing
information about the world. In a form that a computer system can use to solve complex tasks. Accordingly,
the application allows a computer to collect raw data from different companies, institutions, and centers.
Likewise, it then represents it in graphical forms. To extract relations and patterns in the data. A machine
then finally uses this data form to take further actions just like humans would do. The most common
examples of knowledge reasoning are medical diagnose, human-like speech, or theorem provers.

2. AI Planning

Automated planning, commonly referred to as AI planning, is the application of AI. It deals with producing
concrete steps or courses of action for a specified task that optimize performance measures. AI planning
describes steps for a described system. These algorithms make use of the way humans perform a task. So,
they write code for machines to do the same. Common examples include robots and autonomous systems,
cognitive assistants, and service composition.

3. Machine learning (ML)

Instead of using explicit instructions, relying on patterns and inference. ML is the subset of AI that uses
training data to make predictions about a specific field. It is also referred to as predictive analytics. As it
trains on historical data available about a domain. Also, learns the factors that contribute to the output. ML
algorithms are available in a wide range of applications. Such as email filtering, weather prediction, and
computer vision. Where the creation of a traditional algorithm to perform the task is difficult or unfeasible.

4. Natural language processing (NLP)

NLP is like a subfield of linguistics, computer science, information engineering, and artificial intelligence.
It deals with the interaction between machines and humans. As humans use natural languages to
communicate. This field enables machines to understand these languages. Also, respond in the same
manner. You can see the most common example in digital personal assistants(DPA).

Applications Of Natural Language Processing (NLP)

5. Computer vision (CV)

Unlike NLP which uses text to extract information. CV uses digital images or videos to help computers
gain a high-level understanding of the world. A CV is described as a field of study aimed at developing
techniques to help computers “see” and comprehend digital media. Such as photographs or
videos. However, this remains an unresolved problem based on both the limited knowledge of biological
vision and the nature of visual perception in a physical world that is dynamic and almost variable. It
is commonly used in image processing/editing applications.
What is Computer Vision and How is it Transforming Our World?

6. Biometrics

Biometrics uses methods for unique recognition of humans based upon one or more intrinsic physical or
behavioral traits. Computer science, in particular, uses this as a form of identity access management and
control. Whereby it can create personalized identity checks to prevent any mismatch or sharing of identities.
Furthermore, It is available in a wide array of industries. Many of them choose it as their method of keeping
track of employees and their workings within the organization.

7. Virtual Agent

Probably one of the most sought-after AI applications. A virtual agent is a computer-generated,

animated, artificially intelligent character that is posed as the online customer service representative for the
business. It has the ability to not only conduct a conversation with humans. But also direct it towards
particular topics on individual concerns.

Moreover, outside the world of commerce. These agents are also able to perform non-verbal
behavior. Listen to humans to hold conversations with them regarding everyday topics if need be.
8. Deep learning Platforms

Used in pattern recognition and classification (for large sets). This is a special type f machine learning that
consists of artificial neural networks with many abstraction layers.

What this helps to do is break down the data sets and arrange them in particular manners. To aid the
understanding and to help figure out any patterns/classifications/groupings that might be possible within
that one set. All this also helps to gain insight on data repetition, data formation, and the crossover of data
on many ends.
Deep Learning Frameworks: Choose The Best Fit For You
Major AI Companies in the World

Below is a brief introduction of major companies (hand-picked from Forbes AI 50 list around the world
that are using AI to solve real-world problems.

Nuro

An AI company that builds autonomous vehicles to transfer goods. The range is from retail centers and
shops to homes or storage to shopping centers.
Uptake

A five-year-old company that leverages artificial intelligence to analyze how its customers’ machines can
run better and avoid common failures.

Lemonade

They sell renters and homeowners insurance through the use of a chatbot to collect customer information
and work through claims.

Dataminr

The company ingests public internet data. Like social media posts and uses deep learning, natural language
processing, and advanced statistical modeling to send users tailored alerts.

Icertis

Earlier this year, the company celebrated its tenth anniversary. They use a cloud-based platform to help
companies analyze past contract negotiations. Moreover, automate administrative tasks.

5) Big Data – Meaning , uses, issues with big data, benefits, Operational & analytical big data,
challenges

Definition: As Gartner defines it – “Big Data are high volume, high velocity, or high-variety information
assets that require new forms of processing to enable enhanced decision making, insight discovery, and
process optimization.”Let's dig deeper and understand this in simpler terms.

The term ‘big data’ is self-explanatory − a collection of huge data sets that normal computing techniques
cannot process. The term not only refers to the data, but also to the various frameworks, tools, and
techniques involved. Technological advancement and the advent of new channels of communication (like
social networking) and new, stronger devices have presented a challenge to industry players in the sense
that they have to find other ways to handle the data.

From the beginning of time until 2003, the entire world only had five billion gigabytes of data. The same
amount of data was generated over only two days in 2011. By 2013, this volume was generated every ten
minutes. It is, therefore, not surprising that a generation of 90% of all the data in the world has been in the
past few years.
All this data is useful when processed, but it had been in gross neglect before the concept of big data came
along.

With the development and increase of apps and social media and people and businesses moving online,
there’s been a huge increase in data. If we look at only social media platforms, they interest and attract
over a million users daily, scaling up data more than ever before. The next question is how exactly is this
huge amount of data handled and how is it processed and stored. This is where Big Data comes into play.

And Big Data analytics has revolutionized the field of IT, enhancing and adding added advantage to
organizations. It involves the use of analytics, new age tech like machine learning, mining, statistics and
more. Big data can help organizations and teams to perform multiple operations on a single platform,
store Tbs of data, pre-process it, analyze all the data, irrespective of the size and type, and visualize it too.

The Sources of Big Data

1. Black Box Data

This is the data generated by airplanes, including jets and helicopters. Black box data includes
flight crew voices, microphone recordings, and aircraft performance information.

2. Social Media Data

This is data developed by such social media sites as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest,
and Google+.

3. Stock Exchange Data

This is data from stock exchanges about the share selling and buying decisions made by
customers.

4. Power Grid Data

This is data from power grids. It holds information on particular nodes, such as usage
information.
 5. Transport Data

This includes possible capacity, vehicle model, availability, and distance covered by a vehicle.

6. Search Engine Data

This is one of the most significant sources of big data. Search engines have vast databases
where they get their data.

Additionally, Bernard Marr, a Big Data and Analytics expert, has come up with his brilliant list of 20
Big Data sources that are freely available to everybody on the web. Some of them are briefed about
here.

• Data.gov – where all of the US Government’s data is freely accessible, and information ranging from
climate to crime is available.

• Analogous to this is the UK Government’s portal, Data.gov.uk, where metadata on all of UK books
and publications since 1950 can be gathered.

• There is also the US Census Bureau – which covers valuable information like population, geography,
and other data. Identical to this is the European Union Open Data Portal, comprising the census data
from European Union institutions.

• And something closer to our interests – the Facebook Graph, provides the application program interface
information (Graph API), after gathering info from all the data that is shared publicly by its users.

• In the healthcare sector, there is the Healthdata.gov and NHS Health and Social Care Information
Centre, from the US and the UK, respectively.

Google Trends, Google Finance, Amazon Web Services public datasets, are all similar examples. From
these examples, it is clear that big data is not about volumes alone. It also includes a wide variety and
high velocity of data. In 2001, Doug Laney - an industry analyst-articulated the 3 Vs of big data as
velocity, volume, and variety.

The speed at which data is streamed, nowadays, is unprecedented, making it difficult to deal with it in
a timely fashion. Smart metering, sensors, and RFID tags make it necessary to deal with data torrents
in almost real-time. Most organizations are finding it difficult to react to data quickly.
 Not many years ago, having too much data was simply a storage issue. However, with increased storage
capacities and reduced storage costs, industry players like Remote DBA Support are now focusing on
how relevant data can create value.

There is a greater variety of data today than there was a few years ago. Data is broadly classified as
structured data (relational data), semi-structured data (data in the form of XML sheets), and
unstructured data (media logs and data in the form of PDF, Word, and Text files). Many companies
have to grapple with governing, managing, and merging the different data varieties.

Veracity (the quality of the data), variability (the inconsistency which data sometimes displays), and
complexity (when dealing with large volumes of data from different sources) are other essential
characteristics of data.

Advantages of Big Data

1. Today’s consumer is very demanding. He talks to pass customers on social media and looks at different
options before buying. A customer wants to be treated as an individual and to be thanked after buying
a product. With big data, you will get actionable data that you can use to engage with your customers
one-on-one in real-time. One way big data allows you to do this is that you will be able to check a
complaining customer’s profile in real-time and get info on the product/s he/she is complaining about.
You will then be able to perform reputation management.

2. Big data allows you to re-develop the products/services you are selling. Information on what others
think about your products -such as through unstructured social networking site text- helps you in
product development.

3. Big data allows you to test different variations of CAD (computer-aided design) images to determine
how minor changes affect your process or product. This makes big data invaluable in the manufacturing
process.

4. Predictive analysis will keep you ahead of your competitors. Big data can facilitate this by, as an
example, scanning and analyzing social media feeds and newspaper reports. Big data also helps you do
health-tests on your customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders to help you reduce risks such as
default.

5. Big data is helpful in keeping data safe. Big data tools help you map the data landscape of your
company, which helps in the analysis of internal threats. As an example, you will know if your sensitive
 information has protection or not. A more specific example is that you will be able to flag the emailing
or storage of 16 digit numbers (which could, potentially, be credit card numbers).

6. Big data allows you to diversify your revenue streams. Analyzing big data can give you trend-data that
could help you come up with a completely new revenue stream.

7. Your website needs to be dynamic if it is to compete favorably in the crowded online space. Analysis
of big data helps you personalize the look/content and feel of your site to suit every visitor based on,
for example, nationality and sex. An example of this is Amazon’s IBCF (item-based collaborative
filtering) that drives its “People you may know” and “Frequently bought together” features.

8. If you are running a factory, big data is important because you will not have to replace pieces of
technology based on the number of months or years they have been in use. This is costly and impractical
since different parts wear at different rates. Big data allows you to spot failing devices and will predict
when you should replace them.

9. Big data is important in the healthcare industry, which is one of the last few industries still stuck with
a generalized, conventional approach. As an example, if you have cancer, you will go through one
therapy, and if it does not work, your doctor will recommend another therapy. Big data allows a cancer
patient to get medication that is developed based on his/her genes.

Challenges of Big Data

1. One of the issues with Big data is the exponential growth of raw data. The data centres and databases
store huge amounts of data, which is still rapidly growing. With the exponential growth of data,
organizations often find it difficult to rightly store this data.

2. The next challenge is choosing the right Big Data tool. There are various Big Data tools, however
choosing the wrong one can result in wasted effort, time and money too.

3. Next challenge of Big Data is securing it. Often organizations are too busy understanding and analyzing
the data, that they leave the data security for a later stage, and unprotect data ultimately becomes the
breeding ground for the hackers.