Watson Weekly: Transforming Business for Sure

January 31, 2016

I read “8 Ways IBM Watson Analytics Is Transforming Business.” My initial reaction was, “If that were true, why is IBM stuck in a revenue decline.” IBM itself should be the exemplary case for the efficacy of IBM Watson.

IBM is struggling. I think the company has reported 15 consecutive quarters of revenue decline. Let’s see. Yes, that works out to four years of downhill sledding.

The write up ignores the obvious disconnect between what IBM asserts Watson can do and IBM’s own business performance. The reality is that if Watson were so darned wonderful, IBM’s financial results should reflect that insider advantage.

Oh, well.

Here’s the part of the write up I highlighted with my Big Blue red ink marker:

A Kentucky truck company is racking in the dough via Watson Analytics. Okay.
A company engaged in social housing and health care is figuring out how not to injure workers. Okay.
An outfit is identifying opportunities on the Australian stock exchange. I assume Watson is recommending IBM as a strong buy.
A franchised patient taxi service is analyzing data from its transport services. But where’s Uber? What is Uber using for analytics? Okay.
A marketing outfit in Texas takes time out from standing on line at Franklin Barbecue to correlate data. Okay but I think Franklin’s figures out customer demand by looking out the window of the restaurant.
A hospitality planning service firm for college sports can figure out what to do when selling yummy hot dogs and serving cold, refreshing buttermilk to thirsty sports fans. Okay.
A university (yes, a university with a statistics department) uses Watson to figure out how “to leverage social sentiment.” I wonder if the university queries graduates about their student loans versus employment prospects? Okay. Well, maybe not okay.
Another university uses Watson in its actual classes. What about IBM SPSS? Wait maybe that’s Watson analytics. Students will be almost excited as I was to do the statistics exercises, but I did not get to use Watson. I had to use a pencil and paper.

My take on this article? IBM does not have compelling use cases. In fact, these examples illustrate that IBM is struggling to dress up analytics in marketing finery.

Uber? What’s Uber using for its ride analytics?

Stephen E Arnold, January 31, 2016

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Analytics, IBM Watson, Marketing, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.