EDITOR’S QUESTION
HOW CAN CIOS ENSURE
SUCCESS WITH THEIR
MACHINE LEARNING
DEPLOYMENTS?
To make decisions more quickly
and accurately, enterprises
in the Middle East are
increasingly turning to Machine
Learning, arguably today’s
most practical application
of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
How can CIOs ensure success
with their Machine Learning
deployments in today’s datadriven
market?
Machine Learning is a type of AI
that allows software applications
to become more accurate
at predicting outcomes without being
explicitly programmed to do so. Machine
Learning algorithms use historical data as
input to predict new output values.
In addition, Machine Learning systems
apply algorithms to data to glean
insights into that data without explicit
programming: It’s about using data to
answer questions. As such, enterprises
are applying Machine Learning to a wide
array of issues, from customer purchasing
patterns to predictive maintenance.
According to research and consulting firm
International Data Corporation (IDC),
spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI)
systems in the Middle East and Africa (MEA)
is expected to maintain its strong growth
trajectory as businesses continue to invest
in projects that utilise the capabilities of AI
software and platforms.
Referencing its latest Worldwide Artificial
Intelligence Systems Spending Guide, IDC
stated that spending on AI systems in MEA is
expected to reach US$374.2 million in 2020,
up from US$310.3 million in 2019.
“The AI software applications and AI
platforms markets continue to show steady
growth in the MEA region and we expect this
momentum to continue over the forecast
period,” said Manish Ranjan, Programme
Manager, Software and Cloud, IDC Middle
East, Africa and Turkey (META).
“The use of AI and Machine Learning is
on the rise in a wide variety of business
applications from ERP and CRM to analytics,
content management and collaboration
solutions. Many global vendors have started
embedding AI, Machine Learning and
cognitive applications to provide ultimate
business benefits to their users.”
Spending on AI systems in the MEA
region will be led by the banking and retail
industries. Together, these verticals will
account for more than 33% of spending
in 2020, followed by federal/central
governments and telecommunications
“
THE AI SOFTWARE
APPLICATIONS
AND AI
PLATFORMS
MARKETS
CONTINUE TO
SHOW STEADY
GROWTH IN THE
MEA REGION.
industry. “With the growing adoption of
various use cases across all industries,
organisations are continuing to invest
significantly in optimising their business
processes, automating their operations
and enhancing their products and services
offerings in order to maximise the overall
customer experience,” said Ranjan.
Looking at individual countries, IDC’s
forecast shows South Africa accounting
for 20.5% of AI spending in MEA during
2020, followed by the UAE on 19.7%. Saudi
Arabia will be the region’s third-biggest
spender next year with 15.7% share. Turkey
will rank fourth, accounting for 11.1% of
regional AI spending.
32 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com