September 2018

Having recently celebrated its 70th birthday, a health-check on the NHS reveals critical symptoms: painfully long wait times, hospital beds filling the hallways and staff stretched to full capacity all point to a service under significant strain. Faced with an ageing population and a sharp rise in the number of patients suffering chronic conditions, our health service is in dire need of transformation if it is to continue serving its purpose.

Artificial Intelligence continues to dominate the headlines of business publications, blogs and social media updates as the practical applications of machine learning become increasingly widespread. Of course, the AI we know today is far from the image conjured in science fiction stories. In order to create fully-autonomous intelligent androids capable of understanding the world as well as any human, we would first have to master Artificial General Intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is fast making headway into the modern business landscape; the many applications of this once futuristic technology already proving pivotal in driving efficiency and boosting productivity. In fact, according to figures from IDC, global spending on AI and cognitive technologies will reach $19.1 billion by the end of 2018, up 54.2 percent compared to a year ago. By 2021, AI and cognitive spending is set to hit $52.2 billion.

If you’ve been tasked with selecting a new Enterprise Resource Planning system for your organisation, it’s likely you’ve already browsed the market to get a taste of the options available. Given the magnitude of the decision, however, this isn’t one to be rushed. Your choice of ERP will largely depend upon functional software requirements, future scalability, goals and objectives and budget capacity.