Are you cognisant of cognisant computing?

 If not, you should be. So says market research and analysis firm Gartner. "Cognisant computing — the next phase of the personal cloud movement — will become one of the strongest forces in consumer-focused IT," Gartner says. It adds that cognisant computing will "have an immense impact across a range of industries, including mobile devices, mobile apps, wearables, networking, services and cloud providers, causing major shifts in revenue and profit flows."

Gartner predicts that cognisant computing will put the importance of apps, services and cloud to the forefront making it one of the three most important components for any customer retention strategies for B2C companies over the coming five years. 

So what exactly is it, and where did it come from? "Cognisant computing is a consumer experience in which data associated with individuals is used to develop services and activities according to simple rules," Gartner says. "These services include alarms, bill payments, managing and monitoring health and fitness, and context-specific ads. Cognisant systems will deliver their services across multiple devices."

As to where it came from the answer seems to be Gartner, and important as it may be in Gartner's estimation it has not yet achieved the status of an entry on Wikipedia. The term appears to have been coined by Gartner and the concept is being promoted almost exclusively by that company, but with some other followers.

However there is no doubting the validity of the phenomenon. Here is what it involves. "By amalgamating and analysing data in the cloud from many sources (including apps, smartphones and wearable devices, websites, store purchases, and social interaction), cognisant computing will provide contextual insights. This will help companies expand the lifetime value of their increasingly fickle customers, improve customer care, boost their sales channels and transform the customer relationship — by making it more personal and relevant."

Gartner adds: "In essence, this new development will help companies to innovate and create new business opportunities by creating hypercontextual services that will appeal to a dedicated individual — rather than catering to the mass market.

However, critical issues will have to be addressed including consumer privacy, quality of execution and becoming a trusted vendor."

Jodie Korber, Managing Director of cloud computing supplier Lanrex added “technologies that bring together disparate information sources to improve customers experience are set to transform many businesses. Leveraging technology to deliver new capabilities enable organisations to focus on education, relationship building and business growth“

So in essence cognisant computing is the technology that will underpin the move to put customers at the centre, to deliver more personalised services to 'a market of one'.