Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2019.  Read them in this 11th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Contributed by Chad Bockius, President and Chief Product Officer of CarStory

4 Technology Predictions for 2019 that will Transform our "Intelligence"

The age of computing has seen many eras. First, we saw semiconductors change the way we calculate information. Then came software to help us automate daily processes. The third was the virtualization of computing power. And now today, we are in the intelligence era, with a focus of using oceans of data to build products that have real intelligence. 

In 2019 the investments and innovations in this fourth era will continue to accelerate. Four of the most promising areas are:

Outcome-based predictions

For years businesses have been seeking answers and are left pouring through information. The promise of big data analytics came up short in one area. It left the end user to make sense of the analytics and come up with a decision. 

Businesses don't want to know there is a drop in the sales forecast, they want to know what is causing it. It's not enough to know that distribution bottlenecks will disrupt shipments, we need to know how we can mitigate the problem. It's not enough to know a vehicle sold for 30 days ago, dealers need to know how much a similar vehicle will sell on their lot, today. 

Smart companies have figured out this gap and have been working to close it. Instead of surfacing more data or more analytics, smart products are now giving end users the "answer." 

Vertical-focused machine learning

Vertical machine learning applications can go deeper and uncover better insights than their horizontal counterparts. To get the most value from algorithms, like neural networks, it's best to point them at a specific domain where they can process massive data sets around a specific problem. 

A computer vision company, Synapse, took this approach while scanning luggage at airports. Instead of trying to detect millions of objects, they focused on the problem facing airport security. The result is that in less than two years their product is more effective than a human screener. 

CarStory has taken a similar approach in the used vehicle space. By going deep on the problem of predicting when a vehicle will sell and for how much, their application can uncover insights that no human could ever find or predict. 

Visual Search

Humans are visual beings. We can recognize an image in as little as 13 milliseconds. We are already seeing huge improvements in the visual search applications and this growth will continue in 2019. In fact, MarketsandMarkets estimates that the image recognition market will grow to 25.5 Billion by 2019. 

While relatively new, searching with images is in high demand. Visenze reports that 62% of millennials want visual search over any other new technology. That is a ringing endorsement. 

At CarStory, we're using visual search to reimagine how consumers discover their next car. Instead of typing in a make/model search, you can walk down the street, point your phone and know in an instant what you're looking at. More importantly, the system learns from your scans to create a list of recommendations - all based on the images. This is just the beginning for this technology. Eventually, it will become a shopping companion on the dealer's lot. Similar to how shoppers might use the Amazon app to scan products in their local Target, CarStory will tell you everything you need to know about every car on a dealer's lot, all from a picture. 

IoT & machine learning integration

The IoT market has exploded. In the process, it's created new opportunities to build smart applications that can process the data in real-time. 

By 2020 90% of cars on the street will be internet connected. These intelligent vehicles will report back on all sorts of information from accidents, to service needs, to mileage. This is a treasure-trove of data that can be used by countless companies. 

Insurance companies can better predict risk and offer more competitive rates. Dealers can proactively recommend service and offer discounts to fill the service bay. Safety services can instantly be notified of serious accidents and be dispatched automatically. The scenarios are endless and can dramatically improve our ownership experience.

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About the Author

Chad Bockius is the President & Chief Product Officer of CarStory where he leads the product and go-to-market efforts.  CarStory is a suite of products offering the most comprehensive market insights for used cars around the nation. He brings more than 15 years of high tech & executive experience from companies such as Bazaarvoice, Socialware and Trilogy. Chad has combined his automotive expertise with a deep understanding of online marketing to help dealers and OEMs tap into the power of big data to help build consumer confidence and accelerate decisions. Chad earned a Bachelors of Engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, resides in Bee Cave, TX with his wife and two children, where he served on the City Council for 6 years and continues to give back to the community as the Founder/President of the Bee Cave Arts Foundation.