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Enterprise Tech Woes Spur AI Partnerships; Automation Set for Jump to Hyperspeed
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Welcome back. Information-technology teams have been put to the test during the Covid-19 outbreak. Emergency remote-work efforts relied on IT workers to keep the proverbial lights on. Now a number of big enterprise-tech players are joining forces to apply artificial intelligence to basic IT tasks, such as preventing glitches or managing data. The pandemic is also expected to accelerate workplace automation, according to tech consulting firm Gartner Inc.
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PHOTO: MATTHIAS BALK/DPA/ZUMA PRESS
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IBM Teams Up With ServiceNow
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Two of the enterprise tech industry’s top players are joining forces on an AI-based service designed to help organizations predict, prevent and fix IT problems, WSJ’s John McCormick reports.
How it works. The move links up ServiceNow’s IT Service Management and IT Operations Management systems with IBM’s Watson AIOps, which has millions of baked-in troubleshooting scenarios.
How much better? The combined services could help companies detect and remedy technology issues about 60% faster than human monitors, IBM said.
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In another move, Amazon Web Services announced a partnership with data-management firm Cohesity Inc., aimed at helping companies secure and analyze growing stores of data in the cloud, WSJ’s Sara Castellanos reports.
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Customer benefits. Data-management-as-a-service could free up valuable IT employees to address more pressing issues, not least supporting tech needs for remote workers and other business-continuity initiatives.
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All in the cloud. Making Cohesity’s data-management service a simple extension of AWS cloud subscription would make it very challenging for third-party data management solutions to compete.
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$55 billion
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World-wide database management system revenue in 2019, up from $46 billion in 2018, according to Gartner Inc.
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Hyperscience CEO Peter Brodsky.
PHOTO: HYPERSCIENCE
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Another Round for Hyperscience
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Process-automation software developer Hyper Labs Inc., which does business as Hyperscience, raised $80 million in a new venture-capital funding round led by Tiger Global Management, WSJ’s Jared Council reports.
What it does. The New York-based startup uses image-recognition algorithms to assess how humans complete a workplace task and learn how to apply that process.
Automated offices. Peter Brodsky, the startup’s CEO, sees the technology managing routine office tasks and knowing when to call a human for help.
Why now. The pandemic has further accelerated a growing market for workplace automation, which is projected to reach $1.89 billion in 2021.
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"If it knows it is going to be wrong, definitely bring a person in. But if it knows it’s going to be right, don’t waste a person’s time."
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— Hyperscience CEO Peter Brodsky on the startup's process-automation software
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Gartner’s Top Strategic Trends
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AI engineering and hyperautomation were among key strategic trends on IT consulting giant Gartner's annual list of tech to watch in the year ahead. Here's what it had to say:
AI engineering: “A robust AI engineering strategy will facilitate the performance, scalability, interpretability and reliability of AI models while delivering the full value of AI investments.”
Hyperautomation: “The pandemic has heightened demand with the sudden requirement for everything to be 'digital first' … Everything that can and should be automated will be automated.”
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The WSJ Pro AI Executive Forum takes place online Oct. 28, convening business executives to discuss digital transformation and artificial intelligence. Topics will include what Covid-19 has taught us about AI, navigating ethical issues and how to find talent. You can view the full agenda and registration details here.
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WSJ columnist John Stoll tests Peloton's $2,495 Bike+ in his home office in Rochester Hills, Mich.
PHOTO: KIMBERLY STOLL
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Geared to home fitness. Smart exercise bike maker Peloton released a $2,495 model capable of interacting with users in real time, following a period of rapid growth amid gym closings during the pandemic. (WSJ)
Cruise control. In a first, driverless carmaker Cruise was given the green light by California’s Department of Motor Vehicles to test autonomous cars on the streets of San Francisco without a human onboard. (Reuters)
Brazil launches AI lab. The country’s largest research facility aims to develop AI-enabled solutions for issues in health care, the environment and food production, through a public- and private-sector partnership. (ZDNet)
Closer eye on volcanoes. Penn State researchers are using AI to improve real-time data from satellite images of volcanoes to better detect ground movements, surface deformations and other activity. (Phys.org)
More AI, less government. The White House has announced plans to use machine learning and natural language processing to detect and cut outdated and inconsistent federal agency regulations. (Reuters)
A sense of porpoise. U.S. engineering company Edge Innovations has created a $5 million lifelike animatronic dolphin that it hopes will eventually replace real theme-park animals held in captivity. (Reuters)
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The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging that Google engaged in anticompetitive conduct to preserve monopolies in search and search advertising that form the cornerstones of its vast conglomerate. (WSJ)
Intel Corp. has reached a deal to sell its flash-memory manufacturing business to South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc. for about $9 billion, in a move that would reorient the semiconductor company away from an area of historical importance that has become increasingly challenged. (WSJ)
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said it would pay $3.6 billion to take control of China’s largest big-box retailer, a major rival to Walmart Inc. in the world’s most populous nation. (WSJ)
China’s securities regulator cleared the way for Ant Group Co. to proceed with its Hong Kong listing, one of several regulatory nods the financial technology company needs before it can go public. (WSJ)
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