Buyer’s Handbook June 2019

Best machine
learning platforms
comparison and
buyer's guide
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Buyer’s Handbook

Machine learning platforms no longer

In this handbook: the stuff of sci-fi
Machine learning
platforms no longer the JAMISON CUSH, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
stuff of sci-fi
The best machine learning platforms power email spam filters, ad
What do businesses do recommendation engines, chatbots and even self-driving cars. Machine
with the top machine
learning technology also powers security and network analytics, helping to
learning platforms?
root out and identify potential risks and intrusions. Enterprises even use
How to make a wise the technology for the predictive maintenance of complex machinery,
machine learning
helping to identify potential malfunctions before they become expensive
platforms comparison
repairs.
Which platform for
machine learning is right In fact, machine learning platforms are so common as to belie machine
for your enterprise? learning's reputation as the highest of high tech. And to be sure, a close
look reveals the tech to be highly advanced.

Machine learning most accurately describes algorithms that enable

applications to make accurate outcome predictions without overt
programming or user intervention. Essentially, machine learning models
input and analyze data from disparate sources, apply statistical analysis,

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and predict an outcome. The learning comes from the fact that the
algorithm refines outcomes as new data emerges. Machine learning
In this handbook: algorithms are similar to predictive analytics and data mining in that they
search for and identify data trends, adjusting actions as new patterns
Machine learning
platforms no longer the emerge.
stuff of sci-fi
Machine learning algorithms greatly vary in complexity, and they include
What do businesses do decision trees, clustering and reinforcement learning, in both supervised
with the top machine
and unsupervised fashion.
learning platforms?

How to make a wise This is why it's important for an enterprise to understand the technology
machine learning and the enterprise's needs before making a machine learning platforms
platforms comparison comparison and buying decision. In this buyer's guide, machine learning
Which platform for experts walk potential buyers through the process, explaining the
machine learning is right technology, the business considerations and the vendors and products
for your enterprise? that make up the market.

Enterprise data is vast and ever-growing, and it's full of potential insights.
Organizations that can glean those insights and predict outcomes will
have a competitive advantage. That's why considering the best machine
learning platforms for the company's specific needs is vital.

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What do businesses do with the top

In this handbook: machine learning platforms?
Machine learning
platforms no longer the BOB VIOLINO
stuff of sci-fi
While the term connotes the high-tech future envisioned by sci-fi writers,
What do businesses do the products, services and capabilities the top machine learning platforms
with the top machine facilitate are very common.
learning platforms?
For example, recommendation engines based on machine learning
How to make a wise
machine learning personalize online ad delivery, often in near real time. It's no coincidence
platforms comparison that a shoe search on Amazon brings up shoe ads on other websites.
Which platform for Machine learning is a category of algorithm that enables software
machine learning is right
applications to more accurately predict outcomes without explicit
for your enterprise?
programming. Organizations use the top machine learning platforms to
build models that can receive data from various sources and apply
statistical analysis in order to predict an output, while also updating the
output as new data becomes available.

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As with predictive analytics and data mining, machine learning searches

In this handbook:
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
stuff of sci-fi
through data to look for particular patterns and trends and then adjusts the
actions accordingly.
There are different types of machine learning algorithms that vary from
fairly simple to highly complex. Some examples include:

What do businesses do  decision trees, which are models that use observations about certain
with the top machine actions and identify an optimal path to arrive at a desired outcome;
learning platforms?  clustering, which brings together a specified number of data points into a
specific number of groupings based on similar characteristics; and
How to make a wise
 reinforcement learning, an area of deep learning that involves models
machine learning
platforms comparison iterating over many attempts to complete a process.

Which platform for

machine learning is right SUPERVISED MACHINE LEARNING VS. UNSUPERVISED MACHINE LEARNING
for your enterprise?
Machine learning styles break down into two distinct categories:
supervised and unsupervised.

Supervised machine learning algorithms require a data scientist or data

analyst with machine learning-related skills who can provide both the input

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and the desired output. They can also offer feedback about prediction
accuracy during algorithm training.
In this handbook:
In addition, data scientists determine
Machine learning which variables the model should
It's no coincidence
platforms no longer the
analyze and use to develop that a shoe search on
stuff of sci-fi
predictions. Once trained, an Amazon brings up
What do businesses do algorithm applies what it has learned shoe ads on other
with the top machine
learning platforms?
to new data. websites.
How to make a wise Unsupervised machine algorithms
machine learning don't require training with the desired outcome data. These deep learning
platforms comparison algorithms review data and arrive at conclusions.
Which platform for Neural networks identify correlations between multiple variables in large
machine learning is right
for your enterprise? amounts of data, using what they learn to process incoming data in the
future. They're better suited to more complex processing tasks -- including
image recognition, speech to text and natural language generation -- than
supervised learning systems.

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MACHINE LEARNING AND DATA SCIENCE

In this handbook: Machine learning and data science are distinct, and both platforms differ
from business/data analytics platforms. Specifically, data science
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
platforms are software hubs in which data science work, such as
stuff of sci-fi integration, coding, model building and data exploration, takes place in an
organization.
What do businesses do
with the top machine Data analytics platforms perform data analytics operations. Through these
learning platforms?
platforms, organizations use tools to conduct analytics in order to gain
How to make a wise business insights from data. These platforms support data-intensive
machine learning applications, as well as clusters of hardware.
platforms comparison

Which platform for

machine learning is right EXAMPLES OF MACHINE LEARNING
for your enterprise?
Machine learning supports a growing number of use cases that are
impacting businesses in a big way. Here are a few examples:

Recommendation engines

Recommendation -- or recommender -- engines or systems are data

filtering platforms that aim to predict user preference or a user rating for a

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particular item. Websites offering products and services such as books,

movies, music, news, search queries and other things use these systems,
In this handbook: as do financial services companies, insurance companies, restaurants and
online dating businesses.
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
These engines often produce recommendations based on collaborative
stuff of sci-fi
filtering, a model built on a user's past behavior or on similar decisions
What do businesses do made by other users. These engines can also use content-based filtering,
with the top machine
learning platforms?
which identifies an item's discrete characteristics to recommend additional
items with similar traits.
How to make a wise
machine learning Fraud detection
platforms comparison
Traditional methods of analyzing data to detect fraud are time-consuming.
Which platform for Machine learning can play a key role by clustering and classifying data to
machine learning is right
for your enterprise? find patterns that might indicate fraudulent behavior. Security teams can
use this technology to automatically identify characteristics of fraud.
Neural networks, in particular, can learn suspicious patterns from data
samples.

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Spam filtering and network security

The top machine learning platforms can help filter out junk email from
In this handbook:
legitimate communication. It builds spam classification models that
Machine learning distinguish between legitimate emails and spam. The ultimate goal is to
platforms no longer the
create efficient models that provide a high level of accuracy with a low
stuff of sci-fi
false positive rate.
What do businesses do
with the top machine Because many ransomware and phishing attacks come wrapped as spam,
learning platforms? this also benefits network security. In addition, machine learning can
How to make a wise detect the presence of network intruders and malicious insiders looking to
machine learning launch a data breach. Algorithms help organizations detect malicious
platforms comparison activity quickly and stop attacks before they can do damage.
Which platform for Self-driving cars
machine learning is right
for your enterprise? The top machine learning platforms can enable self-driving cars. Deep
learning neural networks can identify objects in the road or in the general
environment and determine the best action to safely guide the vehicle.

Machine learning evaluates driving scenarios using data gathered by

various external and internal sensors, such as radar and cameras.

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Virtual assistants/chatbots

Virtual assistants and chatbots, two applications that understand natural

In this handbook:
language and voice commands, can complete tasks traditionally
Machine learning performed by personal assistants or secretaries, including taking dictation,
platforms no longer the
looking up phone numbers and reminding users about appointments.
stuff of sci-fi

What do businesses do
The technologies that power virtual assistants and AI chatbots need
with the top machine massive amounts of data, and machine learning is a key component.
learning platforms?
Predictive maintenance
How to make a wise
machine learning For companies that rely on complex machinery or devices, being able to
platforms comparison predict and address malfunctions or declining performance before they
Which platform for occur can prevent serious and costly problems. Predictive maintenance
machine learning is right powered by the top machine learning platforms can enable them to do
for your enterprise? this, potentially preventing downtime in factories and other facilities that
rely on the equipment.

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How to make a wise machine learning

In this handbook: platforms comparison
Machine learning
platforms no longer the BOB VIOLINO
stuff of sci-fi
Rash behavior can be costly if it leads to the wrong decisions.
What do businesses do Organizations with eyes on the potential benefits of machine learning and
with the top machine artificial intelligence would be wise to heed this advice and avoid the
learning platforms?
temptation to rush into investments in such products.
How to make a wise
machine learning Many considerations come into play when making a machine learning
platforms comparison platforms comparison and buying decision. Purchasing managers should
look into as many as possible before taking the plunge.
Which platform for
machine learning is right
for your enterprise?
DATA FEATURES

Organizations should first consider the data types and data management
features the product or service offers and whether they are available for a
customer's on-premises systems, in a private or public cloud, or in a
hybrid IT environment. For instance, does the platform support big data
initiatives and allow users to build machine learning models with data

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gathered from a variety of sources, including text, images, multimedia and

location systems?
In this handbook:
Data preparation features should also factor into a buying decision and
Machine learning machine learning platforms comparison, including data aggregation,
platforms no longer the
sorting, filtering and integration. Does the platform handle data
stuff of sci-fi
preparation faster by identifying common quality problems, for example?
What do businesses do
with the top machine Also important are the visualization and exploratory tools the product or
learning platforms? service offers. Many data discovery tools use visual presentation tools that
How to make a wise can aid users in finding patterns or specific items within a data set.
machine learning Visualizations take the form of dashboards, reports, charts and tables.
platforms comparison
Traditionally, data visualization was limited to standard charting, limited
Which platform for graphical representations, key performance indicators or other simple
machine learning is right
for your enterprise? methods. But the rise of big data/analytics has also emphasized user-
based data analysis and discovery, access to larger volumes of data, and
the ability to create more advanced presentations.

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AUTOMATION FEATURES

In this handbook: Automation is all the rage as organizations try to boost efficiency and
speed time to market. That includes machine learning processes.
Machine learning
platforms no longer the Some platforms for machine learning include the ability to automate
stuff of sci-fi
multiple processes, such as creating, training, tuning and deploying
What do businesses do models. The faster companies can complete these processes, the quicker
with the top machine they can get start using machine learning and see the business benefits.
learning platforms?
For instance, some platforms have built-in monitoring tools that measure
How to make a wise
machine learning the model performance and automatically retrain the models to adjust to
platforms comparison new data. Other machine learning platforms feature automatic model
training and tuning within a user-specified time limit.
Which platform for
machine learning is right
Another area with potential time and cost savings is IT resource
for your enterprise?
provisioning. Some machine learning-related services automate all
resource provisioning and monitoring so organizations can focus on model
development and deployment without worrying about infrastructure.

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SUPPORTED ALGORITHM AND MODELING METHODS

In this handbook: Machine learning consists of many different algorithms and modeling
methods, each with its own particular strengths and use cases. Any
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
machine learning platforms comparison should include finding out which
stuff of sci-fi methods the platforms support.

What do businesses do At a high level, this breaks down into supervised vs. unsupervised learning
with the top machine methods. With supervised learning, data scientists and analysts who know
learning platforms?
what they want a machine to learn can expose it to a huge set of training
How to make a wise data, examine the output and then alter the parameters if necessary until
machine learning the appropriate results emerge. They can then have the machine predict
platforms comparison
the results of the new data to see what it has learned.
Which platform for
machine learning is right Organizations can use supervised learning for tasks like determining a
for your enterprise? potential customer's financial risk based on past financial performance.
These models can also provide companies with insight into how
customers will act in a given circumstance or customer preference based
on past behavior.

With unsupervised learning, a machine explores a data set to identify

inconspicuous patterns that link different variables, eventually grouping

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data into clusters based on statistical properties. An example of

unsupervised learning is the clustering algorithm used to perform
In this handbook: probabilistic record linking, which extracts connections between data
elements to identify individuals and organizations.
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
Then there's deep learning, which is a way of performing unsupervised or
stuff of sci-fi
reinforcement learning by mimicking some aspects of the way humans
What do businesses do learn. This relies on neural networks to identify characteristics of data sets
with the top machine
learning platforms?
in great detail. Organizations can use deep learning for fraud detection
and predictive maintenance.
How to make a wise
machine learning Another machine learning platforms comparison consideration should be
platforms comparison whether a platform offers the option of pre-trained models and build-your-
Which platform for own models. An organization might want to take the reins and train
machine learning is right models using its own data or install pre-trained models that come with
for your enterprise? training data developed by the vendor. One of the benefits of pre-trained
models is that users are able to score and classify new content right away
rather than having to train the model first.

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INTEGRATION, EASE OF USE AND MANAGEMENT FEATURES

In this handbook: Among the other major factors to consider when looking at platforms for
machine learning is how easily they integrate with other systems, as well
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
as ease-of-use and management considerations.
stuff of sci-fi
On the integration side, consider the platform's API support. Companies
What do businesses do will most likely be looking to integrate machine learning tools with a variety
with the top machine of other systems, so the ability to easily integrate is critical.
learning platforms?
In terms of ease of use and workflow,
How to make a wise
factors to consider include whether
If there are any
machine learning
platforms comparison the platform guides users with barriers to creating
features such as intuitive, graphical and training models,
Which platform for
machine learning is right interfaces; lets multiple users data workers might
for your enterprise? concurrently analyze structured and not be as open to
unstructured data using visual using the platform
interfaces; enables concurrent access and productivity
to data in a multiuser environment;
might suffer.
and generally supports users with a
variety of skill sets.

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Much of the focus with machine learning is on creating models. Does the
platform allow developers, data scientists and other users to quickly and
In this handbook: easily build, train and deploy models at any scale? If there are any barriers
to creating and training models, data workers might not be as open to
Machine learning
platforms no longer the using the platform and productivity might suffer.
stuff of sci-fi
Container support is also important for a smooth workflow, and it is an
What do businesses do important consideration in a machine learning platforms comparison. Can
with the top machine
learning platforms?
the platform work with open source containers, which some companies
use to test their models before training or hosting them in production?
How to make a wise Organizations might choose to run development and production workloads
machine learning
platforms comparison
in containers to create shared and reusable environments.

Which platform for Important management features include addressing data security and
machine learning is right privacy, resource oversight, and governance. What provisions does the
for your enterprise? machine learning platform offer for data protection, user identification and
access control? This is all the more vital in multiuser environments where
various users share models and collaborate.

If you consider a cloud machine learning platform, does the provider offer
an adequate security infrastructure to ensure the protection of client data?

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For governance, something else to look into is whether the machine

learning platform has a management console to enable centralized control
In this handbook: of applications and data.
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
OPEN SOURCE OPTIONS AND RESOURCES
stuff of sci-fi

What do businesses do There are many open source resources that can serve as useful machine
with the top machine learning components. These include programming languages, notebooks,
learning platforms?
libraries, visualizations, data management platforms and frameworks.
How to make a wise Here are brief descriptions of some of the leading options.
machine learning
platforms comparison R
This is an open source programming language for statistical
Which platform for
machine learning is right computing and graphics that is supported by the R Foundation for
for your enterprise? Statistical Computing. It is widely used by statisticians and data mining
professionals to develop software for data analytics.

Python
An open source programming language maintained by the Python
Software Foundation. It supports applications including web development,

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scientific and numeric computing, software development, and enterprise

management.
In this handbook:
Deeplearning4j
Machine learning A deep learning programming library written for Java and Java virtual
platforms no longer the
machines. This computing framework has broad support for deep
stuff of sci-fi
learning algorithms.
What do businesses do
with the top machine H20
learning platforms? Produced by H2O.ai, H2O is an open source, distributed, in-memory
How to make a wise machine learning platform with linear scalability. It supports the most
machine learning widely used statistical and machine learning algorithms, including
platforms comparison gradient-boosted machines, generalized linear models, deep learning and
Which platform for more.
machine learning is right
for your enterprise? D3.js (Data-Driven Documents)
This is a JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data and
particularly for producing dynamic, interactive data visualizations in web
browsers.

Plotly
Plotly's JavaScript library is free, open source software that can be used

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to create sophisticated, interactive charts in JavaScript for finance,

engineering and the sciences.
In this handbook:
Jupyter
Machine learning A web application that allows users to run live code and embed
platforms no longer the
visualizations and explanatory text in one place. It was created by Project
stuff of sci-fi
Jupyter, a nonprofit, open source project born out of the IPython Project
What do businesses do as it evolved to support interactive data science and scientific computing
with the top machine
across all programming languages.
learning platforms?

How to make a wise Apache Zeppelin

machine learning A web-based notebook that enables data-driven, interactive data analytics
platforms comparison and collaborative documents with SQL, Scala and other platforms.
Which platform for Zeppelin supports data ingestion, discovery, analytics and visualization, as
machine learning is right well as collaboration.
for your enterprise?
Apache Spark
An open source, cluster computing framework maintained by the Apache
Software Foundation. Spark provides an interface for programming entire
clusters with implicit data parallelism and fault tolerance. It also powers
libraries including SQL and MLlib for machine learning.

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Hadoop
The Hadoop software library is a framework that supports distributed
In this handbook: processing of large data sets across clusters of computers using simple
programming models. It scales up from single servers to thousands of
Machine learning
platforms no longer the machines by design, with each offering local computation and storage.
stuff of sci-fi
TensorFlow
What do businesses do An open source software library for high-performance numerical
with the top machine
learning platforms?
computation. Its flexible architecture offers easy computation deployment
across a variety of platforms, as well as for desktops, clusters of servers
How to make a wise and mobile devices. The TensorFlow library comes with support for
machine learning
platforms comparison
machine learning and deep learning.

Which platform for Spark ML

machine learning is right An open source software package that provides a set of high-level APIs to
for your enterprise? help users create and tune practical machine learning pipelines. Spark ML
standardizes APIs for machine learning algorithms to make it easier to
combine multiple algorithms into a single pipeline or workflow.

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Which platform for machine learning is

In this handbook: right for your enterprise?
Machine learning
platforms no longer the BOB VIOLINO
stuff of sci-fi
Organizations want a competitive edge and look to platforms for machine
What do businesses do learning that provide a means to predict outcomes from ever-growing
with the top machine volumes of data. This roundup of machine learning platforms is not
learning platforms?
exhaustive but highlights market-leading vendors and products.
How to make a wise
machine learning
platforms comparison ALTERYX PROMOTE

Which platform for

machine learning is right The Alteryx Promote API enables data scientists to deploy predictive
for your enterprise? models into business systems and then manage model performance.

Alteryx claims its platform for machine learning helps data professionals
solve complex business problems faster by making it easier to deploy
advanced analytics models into production.

Alteryx Promote extends the analytics capabilities of Alteryx Analytics

Platform as an end-to-end system for data science teams to deploy and

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update predictive models free from IT. When dealing with production apps
capable of using REST API requests, the platform embeds predictive and
In this handbook: machine learning models without recoding. It also administers the models
both on premises and in a cloud, with scalable options.
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
By developing models in the "Alteryx code-friendly environment" and
stuff of sci-fi
deploying to a secure cloud, companies can expect to cut model
What do businesses do deployment time to minutes, the company states. The process produces
with the top machine
learning platforms?
the resulting API as a single line of code that teams can easily incorporate
into HTML websites.
How to make a wise
machine learning
platforms comparison AMAZON SAGEMAKER

Which platform for

machine learning is right SageMaker is a key component of Amazon's machine learning offering,
for your enterprise? through its AWS public cloud.

It's a fully managed service, built for software developers and data
scientists to create, train and deploy machine learning models. The cloud-
based service includes modules that organizations can use together or
separately.

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Hosted Jupyter notebooks are a component, and these notebooks enable

users to explore and visualize training data stored in Amazon Simple
In this handbook: Storage Service (S3), an AWS service that provides object storage
through web services interfaces. The notebooks can connect directly to
Machine learning
platforms no longer the data in Amazon S3 or use AWS Glue to move data from Amazon
stuff of sci-fi Relational Database Service, Amazon DynamoDB and Amazon Redshift
into S3 for analysis.
What do businesses do
with the top machine
learning platforms?
Amazon touts SageMaker as a means to easily and quickly create, deploy
and train models, and to that end, SageMaker includes 12 common
How to make a wise machine learning algorithms preinstalled. The service also comes
machine learning
platforms comparison
preconfigured to run TensorFlow and Apache MXNet. Customers can also
use their own frameworks.
Which platform for
machine learning is right
for your enterprise? DOMINO

The Domino platform for machine learning is open and unified, designed
to accelerate research and collaboration, increase iteration speed and
remove deployment friction. Domino claims it offers a fully functional
platform by enabling users to build, validate and deliver models at scale.

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Enterprises can use the platform to discover, share and reuse data
sources, including cloud databases and distributed systems, such as
In this handbook: Hadoop and Spark. They can also run development and production
workloads in configurable Docker containers to create shared and
Machine learning
platforms no longer the reusable environments and utilize Kubernetes-backed scalable computing
stuff of sci-fi in both vertical and horizontal scale resources. The latter is available in
either cloud or on premises. The platform can use deep learning
What do businesses do
with the top machine techniques with access to GPU hardware as well.
learning platforms?
The Domino platform enables users to spin up interactive workspaces
How to make a wise using any web-based tool, such as Jupyter, RStudio, SAS, H2O and
machine learning
platforms comparison
Zeppelin. It runs many training and tuning jobs simultaneously, while also
tracking key model metrics and comparing results side by side.
Which platform for
machine learning is right It can also automatically preserve an experiment's context. Each time a
for your enterprise? user runs an experiment, this platform for machine learning captures the
full set of model dependencies -- data, code, packages/tools, parameters
and results -- and the discussion of the experiment's results, Domino
states. The system delivers models as enterprise-grade batch or real-time
APIs for integration into downstream systems.

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GOOGLE CLOUD MACHINE LEARNING ENGINE

In this handbook: Google offers Cloud Machine Learning Engine (ML Enginge) as a
managed service that enables data scientists and application developers
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
to create machine learning models and bring them into production. It
stuff of sci-fi provides training and prediction services, which data scientists can use
together or individually.
What do businesses do
with the top machine Cloud Machine Learning Engine combines the managed infrastructure of
learning platforms?
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) with TensorFlow, an open source software
How to make a wise library for dataflow programming across a variety of tasks. Enterprises can
machine learning use the service to train machine learning models at scale by running
platforms comparison
TensorFlow training applications in the cloud. They can also host the
Which platform for trained models in the cloud and then use them to make predictions about
machine learning is right new data.
for your enterprise?
The Google service manages the computing resources a company needs
to run a training job, so it can focus more on its model than on hardware
configurations or resource management.

Cloud ML Engine has several key components -- one of them being a

REST API, the Engine core that is a set of RESTful services to manage

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jobs, models and versions, as well as make predictions on hosted models

on GCP. Another component is the gcloud command-line tool, which
In this handbook: manages models, as well as version and request predictions. Another
element, Google Cloud Console, provides model and version
Machine learning
platforms no longer the management and a graphical interface for working with machine learning
stuff of sci-fi resources.
What do businesses do
with the top machine
H2O.AI
learning platforms?

How to make a wise H2O is an open source, in-memory, distributed platform for machine
machine learning learning that enables organizations to build machine learning models on
platforms comparison
large data.
Which platform for
machine learning is right H2O Flow utilizes interactive notebooks, has linear scalability and
for your enterprise? supports common statistical and machine learning algorithms, including
gradient boosting machine (GBM), generalized linear model (GLM) and
deep learning.

H2O has an AutoML functionality that automatically runs through

algorithms and their hyperparameters to produce a leaderboard of the
best models.

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Other key features include procedures developed for distributed

computing. The algorithms are for both supervised and unsupervised
In this handbook: approaches, including random forest, GLM, GBM, XGBoost, generalized
low rank model, Word2vec and more.
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
H2O works on existing big data infrastructure, either on bare metal or on
stuff of sci-fi
top of existing Hadoop or Spark clusters. The software can ingest data
What do businesses do directly from Hadoop Distributed File System, Spark, S3, Azure Data Lake
with the top machine
learning platforms?
or another information source. Use cases include advanced analytics,
fraud detection, claims management and digital advertising.
How to make a wise
machine learning
platforms comparison IBM WATSON STUDIO AND IBM WATSON MACHINE LEARNING (AKA IBM DATA
SCIENCE EXPERIENCE)
Which platform for
machine learning is right
for your enterprise? IBM Watson Studio and IBM Watson Machine Learning compose an
enterprise data science platform for machine learning, which provides
teams with open source and data science tools. IBM touts them as
offering the flexibility to build and deploy anywhere in a multi-cloud
environment and the ability to operationalize data science results faster.

Watson Studio enables data scientists and engineers to explore data and
develop models. The platform enables users to access data science tools

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for data preparation and model development and is available for both
coders and noncoders. By using a multi-cloud environment, IBM Watson
In this handbook: Studio provides data analytics on premises, in IBM Cloud Private or in the
public cloud.
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
With IBM Watson Machine Learning, models built in IBM Watson Studio
stuff of sci-fi
are production-ready, built for deployment, evaluation and management in
What do businesses do a secure environment. This enables users to put data science into
with the top machine
production faster, IBM states.
learning platforms?

How to make a wise

machine learning IBM MACHINE LEARNING FOR Z/OS
platforms comparison
IBM Machine Learning for z/OS is a machine learning system designed to
Which platform for
machine learning is right extract hidden value from enterprise data. It can help organizations quickly
for your enterprise? ingest and transform data to create, organize and manage self-learning
behavioral models using IBM Z systems data. IBM claims that this, in turn,
enables companies to more accurately anticipate customer and business
needs.

Data developers and scientists can build and train models with IBM
Watson Studio or other model development environments and have the

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ability to deploy those models close to core transactions that originate on

IBM Z.
In this handbook:
Users can deploy the models instantaneously within IBM's framework, and
Machine learning RESTful APIs enable application developers to incorporate behavioral
platforms no longer the
models into their code. The dashboard provides a health check across all
stuff of sci-fi
models in the enterprise, offering insight into overall model performance
What do businesses do and a quick view of those that need to be retrained.
with the top machine
learning platforms? Model accuracy enables data scientists and engineers to schedule
How to make a wise continuous re-evaluations on new data.
machine learning
platforms comparison
IBM SPSS MODELER
Which platform for
machine learning is right
for your enterprise?
IBM SPSS Modeler provides data mining and text analysis for users with
little to no programming skills. SPSS Modeler can read data from flat files,
spreadsheets, major relational databases, IBM Planning Analytics and
Hadoop.

According to IBM, users can extend the capabilities of SPSS Modeler to

push back data processing with the SQL Optimization add-on
(subscription) or Analytic Server (perpetual license). The product provides

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a graphical interface to help visualize each step in the data mining process
as part of a stream and automatically transforms data into the best format
In this handbook: for accurate predictive modeling.
Machine learning In addition, SPSS Modeler can test numerous modeling methods,
platforms no longer the
compare results and select which model to deploy in a single run. This
stuff of sci-fi
process informs users of the best-performing algorithm based on model
What do businesses do performance. Additionally, SPSS Modeler offers multiple machine learning
with the top machine
learning platforms?
techniques and supports decision trees, neural networks and regression
models.
How to make a wise
machine learning
platforms comparison IBM WATSON EXPLORER

Which platform for

machine learning is right IBM Watson Explorer is a cognitive exploration and content analysis
for your enterprise? platform that enables users to explore and analyze structured,
unstructured, internal, external and public content to uncover trends and
patterns. For example, organizations have used Watson Explorer to
understand incoming calls and emails through Watson's built-in cognitive
capabilities, machine learning models, natural language processing (NLP)
and APIs. Ultimately, Watson enables organizations to gain a better view
of customers.

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IBM Watson Explorer uses machine learning, cognitive data mining and
rich text analytics. The technology also utilizes indexing and searching;
In this handbook: this enables users to explore, aggregate, analyze and visualize large
volumes of structured and unstructured data.
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
stuff of sci-fi
KNIME ANALYTICS PLATFORM
What do businesses do
with the top machine KNIME Analytics Platform is open source software for creating data
learning platforms?
science applications and services, with an aim to be intuitive and open,
How to make a wise while continuously integrating new developments. According to its
machine learning developers, KNIME's ultimate goal is to make understanding data and
platforms comparison
designing data science workflows and reusable components accessible to
Which platform for everyone.
machine learning is right
for your enterprise? Data professionals can use the platform to create visual workflows with a
drag-and-drop graphical interface, without the need for coding.

Users can choose from more than 2,000 modules or nodes to build
workflows, model each step of an analysis, control the flow of data and
ensure that work is always current. They can select one of the hundreds of

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publicly available example workflows or use an integrated workflow coach

to guide them.
In this handbook:
Using the KNIME platform for machine learning, data analysts can derive
Machine learning statistics -- including mean, quantiles and standard deviation -- or apply
platforms no longer the
statistical tests to validate a hypothesis. They can build machine learning
stuff of sci-fi
models for classification, regression, dimension reduction or clustering
What do businesses do using advanced algorithms. This also includes deep learning, tree-based
with the top machine
methods and logistic regression.
learning platforms?

How to make a wise

machine learning MICROSOFT AZURE MACHINE LEARNING STUDIO
platforms comparison
Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio is a collaborative, drag-and-drop
Which platform for
machine learning is right tool that data teams can use to build, test and deploy predictive analytics
for your enterprise? on data. Machine Learning Studio publishes models as web services
applications or business intelligence tools, such as Excel, Microsoft touts.

The product provides an interactive, visual workspace, where users can

drag and drop data sets and analysis modules onto an interactive canvas,
connecting them together to form an experiment. This then runs in
Machine Learning Studio.

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As users build experiments, they can choose from a list of modules with
potential parameters to configure the module's internal algorithms. When
In this handbook: a user selects a module on the canvas, the tool displays the module's
parameters in a properties pane, and the user can modify the limitations in
Machine learning
platforms no longer the that pane to tune the model.
stuff of sci-fi
To iterate on the model design, a user can edit the experiment, save a
What do businesses do copy if needed and run it again. They can then publish the training
with the top machine
learning platforms?
experiment as a web service so that others can access the model and
later convert it to a predictive trial. There is no programming required,
How to make a wise Microsoft states, just a need to visually connect data sets and modules to
machine learning
platforms comparison
construct the predictive analysis model.

Which platform for

machine learning is right MICROSOFT SQL SERVER MACHINE LEARNING SERVICES
for your enterprise?
According to Microsoft, SQL Server Machine Learning Services is an
embedded, predictive analytics and data science engine. It can execute R
and Python code within an SQL Server database as either stored
procedures, Transact-SQL script containing R or Python statements, or R
or Python code containing T-SQL.

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One of the key value propositions of Machine Learning Services is the

ability of its proprietary packages to deliver advanced analytics at scale
In this handbook: and the ability to bring calculations and processing to where the data
resides. Doing so eliminates the need to pull data across the network, the
Machine learning
platforms no longer the company says.
stuff of sci-fi
There are two options for using machine learning capabilities in SQL
What do businesses do Server. One is SQL Server Machine Learning Services (In-Database),
with the top machine
learning platforms?
which operates within the database engine instance and fully integrates
the calculation engine with the database engine.
How to make a wise
machine learning The other is SQL Server Machine Learning Server (Standalone), a
platforms comparison Machine Learning Server for Windows that runs independently of the
Which platform for database engine. Although it uses the SQL Server setup to install the
machine learning is right server, the feature is not instance-aware. Functionally, it is equivalent to
for your enterprise? the non-SQL Server Microsoft Machine Learning Server for Windows.

Support for R and Python is through proprietary Microsoft packages used

for creating and training models, scoring data and parallel processing
using the underlying system resources.

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RAPIDMINER

In this handbook: RapidMiner is a software platform for machine learning, built for analytics
teams, and it unites data preparation, machine learning and predictive
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
model deployment. Organizations can build machine learning models and
stuff of sci-fi put them into production using RapidMiner's visual workflow designer and
automated modeling capabilities.
What do businesses do
with the top machine RapidMiner supports a variety of use cases, including customer
learning platforms?
intelligence, supply chain optimization, healthcare outcomes improvement,
How to make a wise predictive maintenance, cybersecurity and fraud detection.
machine learning
platforms comparison RapidMiner Auto Model speeds data preparation by analyzing data to
identify common data quality problems. It automates predictive modeling
Which platform for
machine learning is right by suggesting the best machine learning techniques and then generates
for your enterprise? optimized, cross-validated predictive models. RapidMiner then highlights
which features have the greatest impact on the desired business
objective.

Built-in visualizations and an interactive model simulator enable data

scientists to quickly explore a prototype to judge performance under a
variety of conditions.

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SAS VISUAL DATA MINING AND MACHINE LEARNING

In this handbook: Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning from SAS supports end-to-end
data mining and machine learning processes. With a visual and
Machine learning
platforms no longer the
programming interface that handles all analytical lifecycle key tasks, this
stuff of sci-fi platform for machine learning lets multiple users concurrently analyze any
amount of structured and unstructured data with a visual interface.
What do businesses do
with the top machine The product offers scalable, in-memory analytical processing, enabling
learning platforms?
concurrent access to data in a secure, multiuser environment, according
How to make a wise to SAS. Data and analytical workload operations are distributed across
machine learning nodes, in parallel, and are multithreaded on each node for fast speed.
platforms comparison
A drag-and-drop interface lets data engineers quickly augment and
Which platform for
machine learning is right integrate data within a "visual pipeline of activities." All actions are
for your enterprise? performed in memory to maintain data structure consistency. The system
lets users explore all textual data to gain new insights about unknown
themes and connections and provides access to a broad set of statistical,
machine learning, deep learning and text analytics algorithms in a single
environment.

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Analytical capabilities include clustering, different flavors of regression,

random forests, GBM, support vector machines, NLP and topic detection.
In this handbook: Analysts can test different modeling approaches in a single run and
compare results of multiple supervised learning algorithms with
Machine learning
platforms no longer the standardized tests to identify top models.
stuff of sci-fi
Visual Data Mining and Machine Learning also enables users to embed
What do businesses do open source code within an analysis and call open source algorithms
with the top machine
learning platforms?
seamlessly within a Model Studio flow. This facilitates collaboration across
an organization, the company says, because users can program in the
How to make a wise language of their choice.
machine learning
platforms comparison
Editor's note: Using extensive research of the machine learning platform
Which platform for market, TechTarget editors focused on established and market-leading
machine learning is right vendors, as well as those offering unique functionality. Our research
for your enterprise? included data from TechTarget surveys, as well as reports from other
respected research firms, including Gartner.

37 BEST MACHINE LEARNING PLATFORMS COMPARISON AND BUYER'S GUIDE