AI & TEM – Yes, It’s a Thing

9/18/18:  When we think of Artificial Intelligence (AI) it’s usually super-computing or intelligent robot technology, which can sometimes be a little creepy. But a story from IBM Power Systems, printed by the Washington Post on 9/11/18 started us thinking that AI has already become a part of most technology-reliant business models. It’s certainly evident in the world of telecom expense management (TEM).

The point of the article is the volume of data maintained by most businesses is massive. Extracting the secrets stored within the data is that pot of gold every business is after. How do we use that data to learn more about our customers, our business, our products, our competitors, and so much more?

Telecom expense management is all about data management and it takes very intelligent technology to manage and extract critical information on costs, usage, and efficiency options from within billions of data points. But as the article points out, it is human innovation with our power of reason that drives AI.

In TEM, or Wireless Expense Management (WEM), we crunch lengthy monthly carrier bills, more like novels,  that detail enterprise wireless usage by device/line. It’s the  WEM financial analyst, though, who has that experienced eye to spot the hidden messages within the analysis and translate them  into meaningful recommendations that give financial, telecom and procurement executives the options they need to make strategic moves to benefit their enterprise.

We’ll for sure be seeing more AI as we move into the age of the Internet of Things (IoT) with appliances that talk to each other, cars that won’t need drivers. At least for the foreseeable future, full data analysis in enterprise mobility will always be the job of a human.