In the era of technology advancements, online operations businesses accumulate vast volumes of data. More data than even large teams of people can sift through themselves. Think of the number of credit card transactions happening every minute, or sales happening daily across a nationwide pharmacy store chain. It’d be an impossible task to identify all irregularity patterns.  

The surveillance of this data to spot abnormalities that may arise is pivotal for upholding the well-being and safety of systems. These anomalies can serve as indicators of problems such as fraudulent activities, system malfunctions, or cyber breaches. The answer to this issue comes in the form of advancements in machine learning (ML) and how it is tasked with uncovering statistical outliers.  

Anomaly detection involves methods that assist in identifying data points or occurrences that differ from the anticipated behavior patterns. Identifying these anomalies on a grand scale demands the application of advanced and intricate methodologies. Detection involves recognizing patterns in data that deviate from the norm – a technique widely used by businesses to boost productivity and safety measures.  

In one enterprise IoT initiative I led for Cisco, I used anomaly models to detect anomalies in telemetry data across millions of devices. These patterns often predicted edge device failures in advance at a 99% accuracy, allowing us to build self-healing systems that reduced downtime and manual intervention. 

While at AT&T, I was tasked with building anomaly detection models that processed petabyte-scale traffic logs across mobile networks. These models flagged unusual location-based traffic spikes and subscriber behavior anomalies, improving both fraud prevention and operational reliability. 

Visa has made massive investments in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve its ability to detect fraud. Last year, the credit card goliath introduced a $12 billion initiative aimed at identifying scams and safeguarding customers from online fraud. The technology scanned massive amounts of data, searching for unusual transitions, irregular spending patterns and purchases made from geographic locations that didn’t line up with client purchase histories. Within the first year, Visa’s team successfully prevented over $350 million in activities, shutting down 12,000 fake merchant websites.  

General Electric (GE) has also been at the forefront of combining edge computing with artificial intelligence (AI) to boost predictive maintenance capabilities in different industrial fields. AI algorithms embedded in machinery sensors and controllers enable GE to perform real-time anomaly detection and condition monitoring of jet engines and gas turbines. The immediate on-site data analysis through this method cuts down both latency and bandwidth usage while enabling fast autonomous decisions to stop equipment failures.  GE uses edge analytics to analyze data at the source, which enables the detection of unusual vibrations and temperature spikes that could signal mechanical issues. The implemented strategy prevents high equipment costs while improving operational safety and efficiency in the aviation and energy sectors.  

Avoiding False Alarms

One of the biggest necessities for successful ML implementation when it comes to searching for data anomalies is ensuring it identifies actual problems. Data detectives must create systems that can spot anomalies while reducing false alarms, regular actions that are being labeled as deviations from the norm. Having many false alarms can tire out the security system and might result in real unusual events being overlooked. 

Graded anomaly systems, such as the one I implemented during a deployment, can help score events based on context, such as device type, time of day and operational thresholds. This drastically reduced alert fatigue and helped prioritize engineering response based on business impact. 

Various methods can be utilized to deal with this problem. Incorporating cues like the time of day or user actions can aid in recognizing genuine anomalies from regular fluctuations. For example, elevated network activity during office hours might be routine, yet the identical activity late at night could raise suspicions and warrant further investigation. By employing modeling methods such as machine learning algorithms that can grasp intricate patterns, companies can effectively reduce the occurrence of false positives.  

When a deviation is identified as different from the norm in data analysis or business operations, it’s important to articulate its importance to individuals involved in the business who may lack the ability to understand the data. In a high-volume retail environment, I had developed a dashboard-driven alerting system where anomalies in product movement or inventory gaps were explained in business terms (e.g., lost sales potential), making the data accessible to non-technical supply chain managers.  Ensuring that information is conveyed leads to decisions being made accurately and promptly.  

The detection of irregularities isn’t limited to just central systems. As such, companies can turn to edge computing techniques that involve processing data in proximity to its origin point, companies can decrease latency and conserve bandwidth resources, leading to quicker identification of anomalies. 

The combination of edge computing with machine learning for anomaly detection can be seen in McDonald’s recent deployment of advanced technology to its 43,000 restaurants. McDonald’s uses edge computing systems from Google Cloud to analyze restaurant data in real-time, which enables the assessment of kitchen equipment performance. The operational parameters of  McFlurry machines and other devices are monitored through sensors that feed data to on-site machine learning algorithms that detect malfunction indicators. The proactive maintenance strategy enables better equipment uptime and improved customer satisfaction. 

As data grows more intricate and extensive, companies face significant challenges, especially when dealing with high-dimensional data and non-linear connections, which limit their ability to capture complex patterns effectively. Implementing feedback loops allows analysts to categorize alerts as either alarms or genuine anomalies to help models grow and enhance their accuracy over time. 

Anomaly detection is no longer optional. It’s a core requirement for safeguarding the integrity and security of business systems. While traditional statistical techniques serve as a base level of defense, the use of machine learning methods brings abilities in managing vast and intricate datasets. Organizations can take measures by adopting tactics to minimize incorrect alerts, communicating anomalies clearly to key stakeholders and establishing resilient real-time monitoring frameworks to tackle potential challenges promptly and maintain smooth and safe operations. 

In my work across industries—from retail to IoT to telecom—real-time anomaly detection has proven essential not just for security, but also for performance, automation and customer trust. As datasets grow and edge intelligence matures, the challenge isn’t just spotting anomalies—it’s doing so meaningfully, at scale and in time to act.