Case studies

Business impact

As insurance firms seek to differentiate themselves in a crowded field, smart companies are looking at ways to leverage the latest technology to streamline processes and improve customer relationships. A top US financial services company — known as an early adopter in the information technology field — was interested in learning how new advances in natural language processing (NLP) technology could help it meet those goals. For assistance in this endeavor, the company turned to IBM to provide senior executives with an in-depth overview of NLP and recommendations for incorporating it into company operations to gain a competitive advantage.

Issue

Natural language processing has advanced significantly in the last couple of years, paving the way for the addition of "intelligent" features to a number of business applications, including speech-enabled interactive voice response, Web-based self-service, automated e-mail handling, contact center quality assurance and service resolution, multilingual interactions and customer analytics. NLP is also used in text-to-text applications, such as data mining and analysis, where it's capable of recognizing parts of speech for context and meaning, and expanding search to concepts rather than just keywords. For companies looking to "dip a toe in the water" with emerging technology such as NLP advancements, it's imperative to understand which areas hold the most promise to help optimize their operations to gain a strategic advantage.

Executive summary

Through IBM Research Services — a partnership between IBM Research and Global Business Services — IBM was able to give the insurance and banking executives an integrated view of the technology itself and potential business applications. As a leader in the fields of speech and language processing, IBM Research was well-positioned to provide a comprehensive overview of NLP and its capabilities. Global Business Services (GBS) employed its Capability Maturity Model technique to help the company’s decision makers understand the full range of NLP possibilities and implications for their business. The process gave the client both the big picture and the in-depth information it needed to forge a strategic pathway toward market leadership.

What IBM did

IBM's Capability Maturity Model is an IBM methodology designed to help executives understand the business implications of new technologies, prioritize their importance to their own company’s strategic goals and develop a business strategy that reflects those priorities. But as a first step, the client’s executive team needed to understand the technology itself. IBM Research provided the client with existing materials on NLP and also reached out to all the labs involved in developing NLP capabilities. Research then compiled a comprehensive overview of the cutting-edge possibilities and their implications for business applications, which was used as the basis for developing the model. Later, this information was synthesized and presented to a cross-discipline team of high-level executives tasked with strategic decision-making for the company. IBM Research and GBS then worked together to develop the Natural Language Processing Capability Maturity Model to give executives an insight into the business applications and strategic advantages of using NLP to enhance their operations. As part of this process, GBS conducted a series of workshops with the client team with the goal of helping them prioritize their NLP technology investments. By viewing all the possibilities through a business-oriented lens, the client team was able to map out a pathway to integrating NLP with its other strategic business objectives.

Capabilities applied

While many other consulting firms recruit outside experts to augment their consulting capabilities, IBM Research employs more than 3,500 scientists who take an active role in helping the client, guiding the analyses, validating findings, reviewing deliverables and conferring with clients' scientific experts. Using the Capability Maturity Model methodology to create and deliver this strategic exercise allowed IBM to capitalize on the powerful combination of resources it brought to the table: IBM Research's leading role in natural language technology R&D and GBS's expertise in devising and implementing customized technology-based business solutions for individual clients.