Dive Brief:

• Almost one-third of large companies will employ smart machines by 2021, predicts analyst firm Gartner Inc. in a new report.

• Gartner defines "smart machines" as technologies that include artificial intelligence, machine learning, cognitive computing, deep learning and intelligent automation. Smart machine use will be especially transformative in the consulting and systems integration services space, predicts Gartner, where spending could reach $29 billion by 2021.

• "Smart machines will profoundly change the way work is done and how value is created," said Susan Tan, research vice president at Gartner. "From dynamic pricing models and fraud detection, to predictive policing and robotics, smart machines have broad applicability in all industries."

Dive Insight:

There may be no turning back for enterprises in a broad range of industries, which will soon see "smart" technologies become vital to competing more effectively and efficiently.  

In the consulting and system integration space, smart machines will be employed to do things like help enterprises "sort through the hype to helping with strategic design, training of the smart machines, deployment and integration to expansion and ongoing refinement," according to Gartner.

What's key is that smart technologies will help increase the rate of innovation. The rise of smart machines will also create an underlying economy — focused on service and implementation — which will help companies better leverage the technology they employ.