M4 conference

The findings of the M4 Competition that ended on May 31, 2018, have provided a wealth of practical information for improving the accuracy of forecasts and the correct assessment of uncertainty based on a huge data base of 100,000 series covering six application domains (macro, micro, demographic, industry, financial and others) and six time frequencies (yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily and hourly). M4 Conference elaborated on the findings of the M4, discussed their practical implications as well as how they can benefit business and other organizations in their effort to improve forecasting accuracy and correctly assess uncertainty.

The M4 Competition extended and replicated the results of the previous three competitions, using an extended and diverse set of time series to identify the most accurate forecasting method(s) for different types of predictions. It aimed to get answers on how to improve forecasting accuracy and identify the most appropriate methods for each case. To get precise and compelling answers, the M4

Competition utilized 100,000 real-life series, and incorporates all major forecasting methods, including those based on Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning, ML), as well as traditional statistical ones.