by Angela Guess
Derrick Harris of GigaOM recently discussed how the cloud has made it easier for people without years of experience in analytics to make the most of their business data. He writes, “Who needs a Ph.D. in statistics when you have the cloud? Machine learning is high data science — a discipline focused on algorithms that automatically detect complex patterns hidden within datasets — and it’s fast becoming something that anyone leverages to sell more handbags, or solve a research problem, or build the next LinkedIn or Facebook.”
He continues, “Machine learning is nothing new — companies have been using it for years for everything from market predictions to search engines — but its presence in the mainstream is. Earlier this year, we covered software vendors such as HPCC Systems and Skytree that are trying to make machine learning easy for all types of companies. Software, however, still requires hardware, licenses and all the things that go along with it. And maybe even some analytics expertise. If you’re a small business or maybe even an individual, you need something easier. You need something in the cloud. And you need someone else to handle the hard parts.”
