By Prof. Umesh S. Mahtani, Program Chair, Bachelor of Management Studies and Prof. R.P. Suresh, Professor of Practice, School of Computational and Data Sciences, Vidyashilp University
Every business organisation thrives to reach its desired goal of providing the best products and services to the customers and thereby achieving leadership in the marketplace. They innovate new products and services as well as use innovative ways of exciting or attracting new customers and retaining existing customers with all their changing needs. In this process, they use the latest and emerging technologies as a means of driving innovation in their organisations. Emerging technologies such as Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Quantom Computing, 5G, Biotechnology, Nanotechnology etc., have been driving innovation in Businesses.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the healthcare industry, with the potential to improve patient care, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. Machine learning is being used to develop algorithms that can analyze medical data to identify patterns and trends that may be invisible to human experts. This data is being used to develop new diagnostic tools, improve treatment plans, and predict patient outcomes.
In recent years, healthcare organisations have widely adopted cloud solutions. Technology advancements leading to Cloud scalability, reliability, and ease of management help organisations alleviate staffing challenges (both medical staff as well as IT staff), increase agility, etc. Through these solutions, they are able to provide quality healthcare facilities even in remote areas and at an affordable cost. The emergence of 5G technologies will help improve these services further.
Natural language processing is being used to develop chatbots that can answer patient questions, schedule appointments, and provide other basic support services. Chatbots can also be used to collect patient data and track their progress over time. The use of chatbots helps patients to get their doubts or queries answered almost instantly, increasing patient’s confidence in the treatment and the healthcare facility, leading to customer acceptance and loyalty.
Computer vision is being used to develop algorithms that can analyze medical images, such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. This data can be used to identify diseases, assess the severity of injuries, and plan surgeries. Robotics is being used to develop surgical robots that can perform complex procedures with greater precision and accuracy than human surgeons. Robotics is also being used to develop exoskeletons that can help patients with mobility issues walk again.
Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that allows for secure, transparent, and tamper-proof transactions. Blockchain is being used in a variety of applications, such as cryptocurrency, supply chain management, and identity management.
In many companies, particularly in the Resource industry, production is heavily dependent upon the proper functioning of the large machinery. For example, one of the large Oil and Gas manufacturing companies based in Australia has over 2800 wells and it is important these wells function properly. An Analytics project was undertaken by considering various data (Downhole pressure, tubing pressure, water flow rate, gas flow rate, etc.). The Data Science team brought all the data together into one platform, and using various Statistical and Machine learning algorithms, the team developed a predictive model and visual dashboards to indicate which well needed immediate attention, This dashboard was linked to cell phones of the well operating managers, who will get alarm of the potential failure. This helped the technical team to proactively mobilise the technical team and take necessary action to avoid failures. This increased the productivity of the wells.
Some of the challenges that come with the use of most of these technologies include Data Privacy and Security. These will have to be addressed within the purview of the prevailing rules.