Cloud Intelligence

We’re happy to announce that the book version of our Technology Trajectories research series has just been mailed out to all Global Lifestyles and Technology Foresight subscribers. This was a fun and stimulating project and we got some great feedback on our January webinar.

For those that don't subscribe to Global Lifestyles and Technology Foresight, I'm sure we'll be talking more about the 10 trajectories in coming months on this blog.

In the meantime, see here for more information about how and why we did the research (and our methodology) and read below for a brief snapshot that describes one of the 10 Technology Trajectories. And please don't hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.

Cloud Intelligence

What is it?

The cloud will evolve from being a static repository of data into an active resource that consumers rely on throughout their daily lives. Consumers will have new capabilities for accessing online expert systems and applications that provide information, analysis, and contextual advice. Virtual agents will migrate from being an automated form of ph0ne-based customer service to a personalized form of support and assistance that provides information and—more importantly—performs useful tasks.

Where do we see this today?

One of the ways we’re starting to see this start to happen is in the world of search. Rather than simply spitting back long lists of results, search engines are quickly becoming recommendation and decision support engines. For example, Decide.com helps people understand whether they should buy a new camera, phone, or iPad today—or wait for a price drop or a newer model to be released.

Querying Decide.com is simple—but like a Google search this hides the service’s complexity: it taps into a 100 terabyte database with more than 2 billion price observations. Decide.com also mines online news and rumors to identify patterns to predict whether a newer model of the device you’re searching for will be released soon and make its “buy” or “wait” recommendations.^[i][ii]

Innovaro was very pleased to have Oren Etzioni, one of the co-founders of Decide.com, on our January 2012 webinar to explain a bit more about Decide.com, his research at the Turing Center, and how data mining, big data, and the cloud will enable new types of consumer behavior.

What does Cloud Intelligence means for the future?

In the coming years, consumers will be able to tap into the kind of cloud-based intelligence typified by Decide.com in more and more spheres of their lives—in shopping, in health, in their career, etc. As this happens, information, advice, and real-time decision support will become a more important part of the overall value proposition, even for brands that have traditionally had infrequent post-purchase interactions with consumers.

When married with more intuitive interface—like we’ve seen with the release of Apple’s Siri virtual assistant—cloud intelligence will change the way we complete many of our daily tasks. More of our decisions will be based on data—not a gut feel—and we will find ourselves increasingly collaborating with machines to get things done in our lives.

~Chris Carbone