Читать книгу Self-Service Data Analytics and Governance for Managers - Nathan E. Myers - Страница 24

We have already described that data is being captured at a rate never before seen. Some say that today, companies like Amazon, Google, and others know what we need before we do. They capture data surrounding how we shop, what we buy, our online browsing patterns, our spending patterns, and the likely order of our transactions. One consequence of harnessing the enterprise utility of customer data is that data volumes have multiplied and exploded over the last 10 to 15 years. In many cases, enterprises require data storage that far exceeds what can be accommodated with their own hardware in their own facilities. Further, the number of operations performed on the data has increased commensurately. However, with advances in connectivity, the availability of capacious networks, increased speed of information transmission, and advances in data security, companies may elect to upload their data to data centers outside of their organization in the cloud, to be administered by cloud service providers (CSPs).

Some of the largest CSPs, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, IBM, Google Cloud Platform, Salesforce, Alibaba, and Oracle, offer not only storage but computing, security, and enterprise software services. It is easy to see that there is a virtual ecosystem to be managed, including not only Big Data but also the hardware, specialty software, and analytical methods required to unlock its value. This ecosystem includes other ancillary components, including security and encryption, computer processing, and a host of tools and solutions to transform supply chains and to enhance customer experience. Companies must face the decision as to whether to continue to build and grow their own technological capabilities in-house or to subscribe to one or several focus-built and ready-made cloud services available in the marketplace, or perhaps to consume services from several CSPs, which is an increasingly likely choice.

Since the advent of cloud computing, many companies no longer deem it necessary to purchase licenses and install software for dozens of required programs on every individual connected machine across an enterprise. Instead, every computer on a connected network can subscribe to and run software that is housed in the cloud to process data that is stored in the cloud, assisted by the expertise of CSPs. A user may only pull down fully processed information and outputs, as required for local consumption. It is important to introduce the cloud, given some of the largest service providers are packaging up tools and expertise surrounding some of the subject technologies of this book – artificial intelligence, machine learning, and analytics, to name a few. Let's begin by providing an introductory overview of artificial intelligence.