Skip to main content

Steps to Successfully Deploy IBM Watson in Your Business

Ah, IBM Watson. The name alone conjures up images of a futuristic sidekick, ready to dive into the depths of our business woes and return with the golden fleece of solutions — or at least, that’s what I imagined the first time I heard about it. One chilly afternoon, Jane and I were contemplating whether it would be easier to teach our office plant AI than to deploy Watson. Spoiler: Watson seemed like the less complicated option, and I ended up with a dead fern.

We found ourselves in this comical situation because Jane came across an article that touted IBM Watson's prowess like the new-age Merlin. I mentioned it over our Monday coffee, and just like that, we found ourselves on a mission to integrate Watson into our business – a step toward sanity, or maybe madness? Who knows. But it was an adventure I wouldn’t trade for all the caffeine in the world.

Understanding Your Needs​

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. And yes, I am saying this internally with the tune from "The Sound of Music." We began by trying to understand our needs and, little did we know, this was no different than figuring out if the plant in our corner needed water or the sweet, sweet caress of sunlight. It's about knowing your business's pain points. Jane suggested we list out each issue like a new episode of our favorite TV series.

Before you even say "Hello Watson," ask yourself, "What is it that we want Watson to do?" Is it customer service questions? Data analysis? Predictive insights? Our epiphany came when we realized we were spending too much time on customer queries–producing responses that were basically repetitive haikus. Identifying this need was step numero uno.

Do Your Homework (Yes, It’s Not as Dull as Homework Really Sounds)​

We cracked open our laptops and dived head-first into the throngs of the internet. There are more documents, guides, and resources than one could ever think possible. Jane discovered IBM's own treasure trove of resources while I kept accidentally clicking on irrelevant webinars about artisan cheese-making.

The key here is a fair bit of research. Understand different IBM Watson products like Watson Assistant, Watson Discovery, or Watson Studio. Each product suits distinct purposes. Make sure you’re picking the Watson flavor that suits your needs — might sound obvious, but no one wants to end up with a painful tech hangover. Trust us, we almost did.

Getting to Know Watson (And a Little Bit About Yourself)​

In our pursuit of linguistic perfection for our AI, we embarked on some groundwork that mirrored a weird personality test — but for organizations. We loaded vast troves of FAQs, previous chat transcripts, and customer queries into this cognitive toaster oven. Were we over-excited? Absolutely. Did we input ridiculous amounts of trivial data? You bet.

Essentially, you need to set up your data environment. Upload and format your data so Watson can digest the info and regurgitate wisdom. Jane’s face of horror when we found a server crash caused by uploading a malformed file is etched in my brain for eternity.

Creating Your Watson Workspace​

This was where technology blended with creativity — like oil and vinegar, but with a ton of potential, and just as much mess. Creating a Watson workspace was like building a treehouse where we could host both strategy meetings and imaginary tea parties.

We built our own workspace in the IBM Cloud where Watson would reside. You'll need an IBM Cloud account to get started. Then, you go through the steps of creating an instance of the Watson product you've chosen. It's like choosing a pet: Think of it as a digital guinea pig.

ibmcloud login --sso #use this to log in with single sign-on

Teach Watson with Loving Patience (And Unyielding Determination)​

This is where Watson learns its ABCs – very much a kindergarten phase. The teaching process calls for patience. Jane spent hours futzing with intents and entities, which are key components of Watson’s understanding of customer queries. I tackled the delightful labyrinth of dialogue, creating conversation nodes that would allow our Watson-powered assistant to carry conversations that didn't sound like an 80s text-adventure game.

{
  "intents": [
    {
      "intent": "greet",
      "examples": [
        {"text": "Hello"},
        {"text": "Hi there"},
        {"text": "Good morning"}
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Deploying Watson is not quite like unleashing a pre-programmed genie. It doesn't just "know" things. You need to sculpt its mind. It's a labor of love.

Integrating Watson: Rolling Out the Welcome Mat​

Here came the critically acclaimed compass moment — integrating Watson into our existing systems, dapper tools like APIs hold great charm, letting you communicate with Watson seamlessly. Jane took this task graciously while simultaneously conducting background research on how to teach philosophy to parrots. Following the fine art of API integration is less arcane than it sounds. IBM offers extensive documentation that's reasonably idiot-proof — we really appreciate that, IBM.

This involved connecting our Watson Assistant, through an API, to a customer-facing platform like our website or app. Basically, it’s like attaching a brain to a body. Magic, without the misdirection.

Testing and Tinkering (Honestly, Embrace this Life Philosophy)​

If you're not testing it, you’re not perfecting it. And believe us, things will need testing. We played around by throwing all sorts of questions at Watson, much like one might fling spaghetti to check if it's done. Our testing involved asking questions in various phrasings and watching Watson's performance (or lack of it) — always willing to learn from both triumphs and disasters.

Take advantage of the insights Watson provides during the testing phase. Tune its responses, the connections, the conversation paths — repeated until Watson was as smooth as butter on a stack of pancakes.

Launching Watson: An AI Odyssey​

Oh, the moment of truth! Our Frankenstein moment (minus the whole town-with-pitchforks part). We proudly unleashed Watson to the world. There was a sense of triumph as we watched it navigate customer queries with more speed than I navigate Netflix categories.

Remember to keep an eye on Watson's performance post-launch. Regular updates and tweaks based on analytics and user feedback will keep your AI as ready and raring as a golden retriever wanting to play fetch.

Conclusion: Bigger Smiles, Lesser Hassles​

Ah, the joy of accomplishment shared is the joy enhanced. In the end, deploying Watson was remarkably less stressful than revamping our website last year. We learned a ton, grew closer as a team, and sure, maybe sacrificed a fern or two along the way, but the adventure had its charm – and now we have a business helper that doesn't require coffee breaks.

If we could deploy Watson, you can too. Just keep a sense of humor, honor the process, and remember that each new step with Watson can feel just as rewarding as the first time you made pancakes without burning them.

And so, onward with our digital companion, toward new heights and new discoveries, all happy accidents included.