Offering the ability for users to forecast events ranging from inventory shortages to impending frauds, Microsoft has been preparing to launch the beta phase of its machine learning service on its cloud servers next month.
Machine learning has been lusted over by organizations of all sizes, ranging from those whose analytics divisions have too much data to crunch to those who lack such departments. With Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, the algorithms for predictive analytics will already be in place and there will be less need for organizations to toil over developing their own forecasting formulas.
"Elevators never stall. Oil rigs never malfunction. Takeoffs are never delayed, because the problem was fixed yesterday," according to a YouTube video released by Microsoft Server and Cloud on June 16, 2014.
Microsoft Azure Machine Learning will be available to anyone who stores data on Microsoft's Azure servers. Microsoft will reportedly provide means for migration and offer incentives to encourage users to make the move over to its cloud servers, but there has been no word on how much it'll cost users to transfer data over to Azure.
Microsoft's machine-learning will feature an interface that's much like visual programming, in which a programmer builds software by chaining prepackaged commands rather than codeing them from scratch. The machine-learning tool will employ a drag-and-drop structure that will enable users to customize forecasting models to address needs specific to their organizations, according to the New York Times.
Microsoft Azure Machine Learning will likely be met with counterpunches from Amazon and Google. With predictive analytics at the core of Amazon's product recommendations and Google's searches, it's likely only a matter of time before the two companies roll out machine learning in earnest to all users of their cloud services -- Google currently offer's its Google Prediction API to software developers.
More than 100 customers, businesses and universities, have already been using Microsoft's machine-learning service for roughly a year, according to General Manger Eron Kelly of Microsoft's Product Marketing division. Azure itself, sees roughly 1,000 new users each day, according to Microsoft.
With a scalable and high-powered foundation of cloud services behind it, the possibilities for Microsoft's machine learning appear boundless.
Microsoft's Azure touts unlimited servers and storage space. An open-ended service, Azure supports the construction of applications through the use of any framework or language, according to Microsoft's website.
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJtNJepz-pM&feature=youtu.be
https://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-azure-predictive-machine-learning-beta-proactive-troubleshooter/
