The power of machine learning has arrived for the masses, and it comes in the form of a cloud-based platform called IBM Watson Data Platform.
Announced today in Las Vegas at the IBM World of Watson conference, the platform promises to let businesses get more valuable insights, as well as interpret and collaborate with data.
“Watson Data Platform applies cognitive assistance for creating machine learning models, making it far faster to get from data to insight,” said Bob Picciano, SVP of Information & Analytics.
“It also provides one place to access machine learning services and languages, so that anyone, from an app developer to the Chief Data Officer, can collaborate seamlessly to make sense of data, ask better questions, and more effectively operationalize insight.”
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#IBM Picciano:announcing #Watson Data Platform for AI-powered decision making. "We're the only company doing this." #IBMWoW #makedatasimple
— IBM Data, AI & Automation (@IBMData) October 25, 2016
Harness Collaboration
The IBM Watson Data Platform uses machine learning to intelligently and automatically build models from structured and unstructured data.
Citing a survey by Harvard Business Review, IBM says 80 percent of companies struggle with allowing employees to collaborate using common data, which in turn impacts a company’s ability to drive business results.
Businesses are siloed. People spend too much time collecting and then cleansing data, or they lack a consistent view of data across departments.
SVP @IBMAnalytics @bobpicciano at #ibmwow announces the Watson Data Platform to unleash the power of data.@IBM #DigitalTransformation #IoT pic.twitter.com/WZJgbfchtW
— Roberto Villa (@RobertoVjlla) October 25, 2016
That changes, IBM says, with the announcement of IBM Watson Data Platform, as different areas of the business will have access to a dashboard tailored to their specific needs and speciality.
“Access to data insights are no longer heavily dependent on IT,” Picciano said.
Insight will be the new currency, measuring the success of a company's #IT systems, says @bobpicciano at #ibmwow pic.twitter.com/kuvefmjSQO
— Tech Ed Canada (@TechEdCA) October 25, 2016
SQL, Python, R, Java, and Scala are currently integrated into the system, as well as more than 20 ecosystem partners including RStudio, and APIs from Keen IO.
Watson Data Platform available on an open source foundation built on Spark. #ibmwow pic.twitter.com/UiycgMa6eT
— IBM Consulting (@ibmconsulting) October 25, 2016
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is IBM Watson Data Platform?
Announced at IBM's World of Watson conference in Las Vegas in October 2016, Watson Data Platform is a cloud-based platform that uses machine learning to build models from structured and unstructured data, helping businesses gain insights, interpret data and collaborate on it.
How does Watson Data Platform speed up data analysis?
Bob Picciano of IBM said the platform applies cognitive assistance to create machine learning models, making it much faster to get from data to insight. It also gives one place to access machine learning services and languages.
What data collaboration problem was the platform meant to solve?
Citing a Harvard Business Review survey, IBM said 80 per cent of companies struggle to let employees collaborate using common data. Businesses are siloed, people spend too long collecting and cleansing data, and departments lack a consistent view of it.
How does the platform reduce dependence on IT?
Different areas of the business get dashboards tailored to their needs, so anyone from an app developer to the Chief Data Officer can work with the data. Picciano said access to data insights was no longer heavily dependent on IT.
Which languages and partners were integrated into Watson Data Platform at launch?
At launch in 2016, the platform integrated SQL, Python, R, Java and Scala, along with more than 20 ecosystem partners, including RStudio, and APIs from Keen IO.