What Is Machine Learning Operations? A Complete Guide

Artificial Intelligence and its subset, Machine Learning, are now both indispensable technologies among large businesses. These techs might be relatively new, but their uses have gained tremendous popularity worldwide. Stock price prediction, facial recognition, virus detection, chatbots, and Siri in iOS are just a few examples of the uses of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI).

However, despite the high-level models (a model refers to the machine learning algorithm’s output—what the ML system learned) produced by both the AI and ML, deploying these technologies can be a real challenge. This is why Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) is necessary.

Definition of MLOps

MLOps is a system whose purpose is to develop and maintain production ML smoothly and efficiently. The data science community views MLOps as a blanket term for a set of guiding principles, as well as best practices, about ML instead of a single technical solution.

It combines ML, Data Engineering, and DevOps to implement and maintain machine learning systems consistently and efficiently, like what this company offers.

The Three Components of MLOps

Like DevOps and DataOps, MLOps aims to improve automation and make the quality of production machine learning better while keeping an eye on regulatory and business requirements.

MLOps is basically the assembled engineering pieces that help train, run, and implement artificial intelligence models. Seen like that, we can deduce that MLOps has three interconnected components:

Data Engineering
DevOps (IT)
Machine Learning

Every one of these components provides important elements that function to close the machine learning lifecycle loop inside an organization. MLOps originated during the development of systems used to aid DevOps teams and data scientists to improve communication using ML. It then developed into processes and workflows to use during deployment to handle the challenges faced with machine learning.

Now, MLOps is no longer just simple processes and workflows, but complete systemization and benchmarks. The advantages of a reliable implementation and maintenance of machine learning systems in operations are huge. This is why data and IT teams in many industries still work to improve MLOps’ implementation.

How MLOps Work

MLOps provide significant capabilities to facilitate ML in production, including:

Streamlined model implementation. Data scientists employ different modeling languages, tools, and frameworks. Using MLOps, IT production teams can quickly implement models from different languages and frameworks in operations environment.
Monitoring for ML. Since monitoring software tools don’t work for ML, MLOps provide monitoring created for machine learning. It can detect data drift for essential attributes and model-specific metrics.
Production life cycle management. The first model implementation is the start of a series of updates in order to keep a machine learning model to continue working. MLOps provides a method to test and update models in operation with no service interruption to business applications.
Production model management. ML models employed in operation application will have to be strictly regulated to avoid unnecessary changes and to follow regulations. MLOps give audit trails, access control, and traceability to lessen risk and to make sure that regulations are followed.

Benefits of MLOps

Machine learning brings many benefits to a company, not the least among them is the ability to keep up and stay relevant in an increasingly info- and tech-driven world. Other benefits that machine learning operations can give to businesses are the following:

It can make consistent models and workflows
Excellent management of the whole ML lifecycle
Provide resource management system and control for ML
Efficient implementation of highly-accurate models in any location
By having a strong ML lifecycle management, a company can readily meet tech challenges

Executed correctly, MLOps is one of the most crucial systems a business can have. It can provide support to a company’s auditing, tracking, scalability, data processing and analysis, and others. Implemented models will have a more positive effect on customers, better quality, and better performance over time.

From Machine Learning to Machine Learning Operations

Data science made machine learning possible. Data scientists make sure that the ML inference model employed during runtime—to recognize a pattern or predict the result—knows the right questions to ask. Asking the right questions is instrumental in finding the features that are important to the current task.

After data scientists have classified the first batch of features, next would be to identify, combine, clean, and interpret an identified data set that can be employed to train the model to identify those characteristics. In this instance, a large training data set is preferable. The data scientists would then go on to improve the model in progress via a highly iterative method of testing, tuning, and training.

Besides expertise in data science, ML model development also involves significant IT and infrastructure skills. A large volume of data has to be collected, moved, stored, protected, and administered. Moreover, high levels of computer capacity and performance are required to train and test the models.

Consequently, one of the initial challenges in speeding up the machine learning development lifecycle is in extracting from the data science the infrastructure layer. A simple and intuitive research environment is required to let data scientists focus on model development, instead of provisioning and monitoring infrastructure. This parallels the way DevOps let the developers work unbothered by infrastructure issues.

Some of the difficulties are connected to the fundamental separation between engineers and data scientists who must implement the models in operations-ready applications. These groups work on their own turf, with their own distinctive styles, ideas, methods, and tool stacks. Oftentimes, the engineers can have trouble comprehending the model passed onto them by the data scientists.

And as soon as the model is in operation, it’s hard for the production team to know which parameters and metrics are in need of tracking to effectively observe accuracy and performance. It also won’t be easy for the data science team to set up the crucial feedback loop to maintain the inference model while making sure that the updated models won’t impact negatively on application performance.

Importance of MLOps

Due to the disconnect between engineers and data scientists, as well as the challenges mentioned above, MLOps was borne out of necessity. It sought to systematize the whole machine learning lifecycle, starting from science to operation, and to function as a set of best practices to improve communications between the DevOps and data scientists.

Improved communications between the teams would speed up the process all around. Out of this necessity, different MLOps frameworks emerged. MLOps capabilities today are deemed a major requirement for Data Science and Machine Learning (DSML) platforms. To produce the desired results and to maximize the use of these techs, seamless integration and collaboration are the orders of the day.

Data silos will be broken down because they have been made obsolete and deemed obstructive by the new generation of techs. Various stakeholders need to be involved in machine learning projects for them to be of any value. A data silo, where only one team in an organization can access a source of data, is anathema to MLOps, which promotes efficiency through collaboration among different teams.

The MLOps standard makes sure that the operations, data science, and productions teams collaborate smoothly across the machine learning workflows. ML workflows are automated, thus ensuring a seamless implementation and effective continued monitoring.

The MLOps Approach

Any issues on performance, or any feedback on new production data, are sent back to the data science team for fine-tuning and for further enhancement of the model. The operations team would then methodically test the model prior to being sent to production.

For these reasons, MLOps is the crucial missing link that lets IT reinforce the highly-specialized framework of machine learning infrastructure. The machine learning operations’ approach, which is cyclical and highly-automated, are the following:

Simplify and lessen the time of models’ implementation.
Improve communications and teamwork between teams that can be siloed, like operations, development, and data science.
Efficient integration of R&D systems and infrastructure overall, and initiate the use of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) or other hardware accelerators.
Produce models crucial to the health of long-term applications, like monitoring, versioning, and tracking.
Simplify the monitoring and understanding of machine learning infrastructure, as well as calculate expenditures for each stage, from development to production.
Systematize the machine learning process; make it easier to audit for regulation and management purposes.

Remaining in Front of the ML Curve

Many organizations today look to AI in general and ML in particular to effect change that would turn big data into valuable insights from analytics that can provide solutions for their target audiences.

The techs can also help them develop better decision-making methods, and get their production processes and supply chains to work as efficiently as possible. Modern business climates and highly-competitive economies leave today’s enterprises no choice but to adopt machine learning operations.

Conclusion

MLOps, or Machine Learning Operations, is essentially concerned with getting data science teams and operations people to effectively develop, implement, and monitor models. It’s a natural evolution of DevOps in the framework of Artificial Intelligence.

And as more and more people are becoming aware of machine learning operations and what it could bring to the table, more businesses are also adopting MLOps in their processes. Companies that offer MLOps solutions for faster integration are also increasing. This ‘movement’ inspires many in the tech industry to bring in new tools.

Machine Learning models are not like regular software; they require a different set of tools and practices. Implementation of continuous integrations into data science workflow as efficiently and as quickly as possible, that’s what made MLOps necessary—and why it’s here to stay.