Oracle expands IoT Cloud capabilities with 'drag-and-drop' AI

Dive Brief:

On Thursday, Oracle announced the availability of pre-built, "drag-and-drop" artificial intelligence algorithms in the Oracle Internet of Things Cloud, according to Venture Beat.
The pre-built AI algorithms are designed for industrial companies. AI-based IoT solutions keep factories running smoothly by alerting employees when problems occur or machines require maintenance. Previously, employees required technical coding knowledge to use AI features.
Oracle also added shipping and supply chain management, virtual representation of equipment and environment and incident prediction features to its IoT Cloud applications.

Dive Insight:

Companies like Oracle, IBM and Microsoft have increased focus on AI and IoT solutions in the manufacturing industry. AI and other specialized, high-end technologies have found a home in the manufacturing industry because they offer companies an edge in competitive field with tight margins.

Last week, HP Inc. and Deloitte announced plans to work together with companies interested in using HP's 3-D printers for manufacturing, and GE is testing the new model of Google Glass to help mechanics assemble engines torque fittings to specifications and reference other requirements without a physical manual.

Oracle's focus on AI fits into the company's modernization plans. Oracle has committed itself to competing with the cloud market leaders, and 2017 saw no shortage of the company's efforts to realign the way it does business with the technology demands of modern companies.

The shift in company strategy extends from top to bottom. Leadership changes brought a former AWS' engineer in to serve as Oracle's VP of cloud, and the company rolled out a suite of SaaS and PaaS offerings in August.

Oracle still has a ways to go in the cloud market. AWS continues to dominate with a 34% market share — over three times the size of its next closest competitor, Microsoft, at 11%. Gartner predicts an 18% year-over-year growth in public cloud services that will total $246.8 billion in 2017 alone.