At IBM, we understand both the exponential benefits AI can offer your organization as well as the unique challenges implementation can present.

This post was originally published on the IBM Big Data & Analytics Hub.

In 2018, we formalized the AI Ladder to provide a prescriptive approach to successful artificial intelligence (AI) and to impart lessons we’ve learned through over 30,000 AI engagements. From that framework and methodology came IBM Cloud Pak for Data, our unified data and AI platform. IBM Cloud Pak for Data provides the flexible foundation and information architecture required for advanced analytics and AI on the cloud of your choice. The platform is designed to modernize how you collect, organize and analyze data and infuse AI throughout your organization. A key to the value of the platform is its integration of leading services spanning the entire AI lifecycle.

Building on this framework, we are now helping address some of the other concerns our clients confront when trying to turn AI aspirations into real business results. For many, IT resources, both talent and infrastructure, can be costly barriers to entry when deploying AI capabilities. COVID-19 is now impacting industries across the board and continuing to redefine our “new normal.” In this environment, many business leaders have found themselves forced to digitally transform far faster than originally planned, while also minimizing expenses. We looked at this challenge and developed an innovative solution that bridges the integrated data and AI platform value with the benefits of an as-a-Service delivery: IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service. 

What is IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service?

IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service provides a starter set of IBM Cloud Pak for Data platform services, fully managed on IBM Cloud. Get started quickly and scale as you grow, with the tools, processes and governance required to handle enterprise data on the cloud. Eliminate the underlying IT management and infrastructure challenges and let IBM take care of provisioning, management and updates so you can focus on the needs of your business. Today, users can securely connect to multicloud data sources, utilize guided use case flows and quickly provision nearly 30 integrated data and AI cloud services right from the platform—and this is only the beginning. As IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service continues to evolve, we will add even more services, patterns and multicloud capabilities, including tighter integrations among the services available today. This new offering provides clients with three major benefits:

  • Simplified IT management: Source a starter set of data and AI capabilities with a fully managed, integrated, AI-infused platform and experience. 
  • Increased speed and agility: Seamlessly plug software as-a-service into your current architecture and adapt to changing business needs 
  • Proven trust and compliance: Encryption, threat management, private endpoints, configurable access.

Use case patterns

The starter set of services within IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service can readily address two key outcomes that challenge many organizations: 

  • Becoming effective and efficient with AI 
  • Enabling a self-service, data-driven workforce 

We see the former as an AI lifecycle management challenge, while the latter can be considered a modern DataOps problem. IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service includes a starter set of pre-integrated services that can help businesses effectively address both. These include Watson Studio, Watson Machine Learning, Watson Knowledge Catalog and Watson OpenScale, and several other supplemental services. These individual cloud services integrate cohesively in IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service to help businesses get started quickly, with less pain.

We see DataOps as a must-have if businesses want to succeed with their AI mission. DataOps provides a business-ready data foundation for AI initiatives. To this end, IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service includes a set of cloud data management services, including Watson Knowledge Catalog as well as services spanning storage and data management, ingestion and governance for efficient self-service access to data and other key AI assets. 

This initial release is just the beginning of the journey for IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service, with the ultimate end state being the full breadth and depth of what IBM has to offer in IBM Cloud Pak for Data.

What’s next?

Get started today with a free trial of IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service.

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