Machine Learning Platforms Vs. Machine Learning Consulting Companies

There is no clear answer on whether or not it is better to use machine learning platforms or data consulting companies. Each company has different needs and financial resources.

Machine Learning Platform

Let’s start at the very beginning, what is a machine learning platform?

To describe it shortly, according to Cloudpulse Strategies, it is a platform for automating and accelerating the delivery lifecycle of predictive applications capable of processing big data using machine learning or related techniques.

In other words, the main goal of the machine learning platform is to simplify the process of creating machine learning-based software. If we translate it into different industries, it is like Wordpress offering a user-friendly platform to create your websites, or Canva helping in creating graphics thanks to specially designed tools and a base of templates.

Machine learning platforms are dedicated to data scientists who are motivated to develop in building artificial intelligence-driven software, and most importantly to companies that are working on implementing data science solutions to grow their business and take full advantage of valuable insights that come from data.

One of the key factors that entrepreneurs may find beneficial is the relatively low price of the product. Machine learning platforms offer a specified set of tools available which in some cases may not be enough to fully meet the needs of a company. To build a solution particularly designed for your business, the support of a machine learning consulting company is necessary. Highly-qualified data scientists will then prepare a solution, designed in a unique way, and combining the latest technologies. Let’s take a closer look at what machine learning consulting companies have to offer.

Machine Learning Consulting Company

Data science solutions and business intelligence strategies are still fresh news for many companies. The AI-driven technologies have been on the market for the past few years, and are growing rapidly. Innovations are emerging every day, and it is hard to keep up with the pace of changes.

Machine learning consulting companies come on the rescue. Their role is to support companies from diverse industries by creating for them business strategies based on the deep knowledge of patterns extracted from big data.

A team of experienced data scientists work on first, cleansing data which has been collected and probably forgotten by a company, and later on translating it into useful insights. During this process, it is possible to define patterns of the company's customers, find mistakes in the strategies, and what is perhaps the most important, predict future results. Having this knowledge, leaders can prevent undesired situations like for example customer churn, or decrease in clients' interest.

Cooperating with a machine learning consulting company is the best way to build an effective business strategy. Insightful information processed by specialists will for sure bring desired results in the growth of a company and will establish it in a better position among the competition.

Below, I presented a comparison of two companies, one of them is offering a machine learning platform, and the other one is providing complex services including big data analysis.

Machine Learning Platform Vs. Machine Learning Consulting Company - Real-Life Examples And Comparison

Artificial Intelligence-driven Platform

We’re going to start with an AI-driven platform. Let’s take for example H2O. This company has created a platform that allows users to work on existing big data infrastructure and analyze it, build a model, and predict future outcomes. The philosophy of a company is to democratize artificial intelligence by giving entrepreneurs and data scientists tools to “Make Your Own AI”.

The offer of the company is divided into two sections: open source platforms, and enterprise platforms.

Key features which the platform is offering:

• leading algorithms - including Random Forest, GLM, GBM, XGBoost, GLRM, Word2Vec
• choice of programming language - it is possible to access from R, Python, etc.
• automating the machine learning workflow
• in-memory processing
• easy tool to deploy POJOs and MOJOs

AI-driven platforms can be of great support for companies of any size, who are interested in innovative solutions and have the ability to develop them on their own. For those businesses that do not have enough knowledge of the subject but want to fully use the potential of AI and Machine Learning, there is another option - to use external help and expertise.

Machine Learning Consulting And Artificial Intelligence Software Development Company

As an example, I will take Addepto, as I work for it and I have first-hand information on how such a machine learning consulting company operates.

It provides customized machine learning solutions and data science tools both for enterprise and startup clients. Addepto specializes in creating implementation ideas tailored to customer’s needs, creating models and introducing them to existing infrastructure. The company has a permanent team of data scientists who create software from scratch to fully meet the client’s needs.

The biggest advantage of choosing an experienced help to run the process of analyzing big data is that you do not need to hire data specialists or have extensive knowledge of the subject. No skills in data science are needed. The company offers you a complex service, starting from pointing out whether or not you should invest in business intelligence, which innovative solutions will grow your business, and finally creating a suitable tools to predict with the highest confidence what will the future bring. The process is also faster, with the promise of meeting the agreed deadline.

Key technologies which the company is using:

• machine learning
• computer vision
• optimization systems
• natural language processing
• data warehousing
• business intelligence
• big data

There are many companies on the market offering similar services. While choosing one, it is important to check in which industry they have the biggest experience in, what kind of software they have already created, and what are the opinions of people cooperating with them in the past.

Summary

There is no clear answer on whether or not it is better to use machine learning platforms or data consulting companies. Each company has different needs and financial resources.

The best way to make a decision is to compare those two options and choose the one that in your opinion suits your company the most. In some cases, using both the platform and data science company will bring the best results, as those solutions are often complementary.

There is only one thing I know for sure - nowadays, it is always highly beneficial to invest in big data innovations. Data science will be at the core of every business in the near future.

(Disclaimer: The Author is a Co-Founder @ Addepto)