BI and Analytics Summit, Johannesburg, 13-15 March, 2018

Barry will keynote on “Data vs Information – Now it’s Really Vital” on Wednesday, 14 March and present a half-day workshop entitled “From BI to AI via IoT” on Thursday, 15 March.

Keynote: “Data vs Information – Now it’s Really Vital”

It’s an old debate, often seen as stale and academic. But the difference between data and information becomes more important by the day as the volumes of data gathered about us exceeds what we know ourselves. Whether it is business such as Google or Amazon, or government at home or abroad, data feeds algorithms that determine how we treat, or are treated as, customers and citizens. Discerning between data and information, not to mention knowledge and meaning, will be a vital skill in avoiding the hegemony of the data rich.

  • The dangers of data-driven decision-making
  • The difference between data and information
  • The delight of being information informed

Half-day workshop: “From BI to AI via IoT”

Under a range of names—deep learning, autonomous vehicles, cognitive computing, robotics, algorithms and more-AI and IoT together offer both the threat and the promise of revolutionising all aspects of IT, business and, indeed, society. What do you need to know about them? How should you prepare for and react to their growing importance in your business and IT environments, especially in their likely transformation of decision making support?

In this seminar, Dr Barry Devlin lays the foundation to enable you to take advantage of AI and IoT data, exploring the relationship between big data and many types of deep learning, to position traditional and emerging BI tools and techniques in the practical application of AI in the business world. Finally, we address the ethical and economic implications of widespread adoption of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

With the enormous growth of big data, especially from Internet of Things (IoT) devices, now is the time to start planning for and building skills and infrastructure in artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT to take advantage of new technologies in support of decision making in your business.

  • Gain an overall perspective of AI including a brief history and explanation of its evolution, key concepts, and terminology
  • Examine the architecture and framework spanning from traditional BI to AI and beyond
  • Learn how to apply AI to decision making—augmentation vs. automation
  • Discover the implications of AI and IoT for IT and new technology solutions
  • Track the evolution from today’s BI to future AI- & IoT-based solutions
  • Deliberate the ethical and economic considerations for your business and beyond