Thanks for the compliment Google!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Recently we had a very important compliment from Google that made me so proud on behalf of Vertica! On Wednesday, July 25, at the Google Cloud Next 2018 event, Google launched a Machine Learning (ML) beta that copied many of the functionalities already found in Vertica, reinforcing our belief that Vertica is leading the industry in predictive analytics.

Google’s BigQuery ML beta announcement includes two algorithms, linear and logistic regression and also confirmed that these new machine learning functions could be accessed using standard SQL, opening the door for many database administrators and business analysts who are very fluent in SQL. Google explained that specialized machine learning platforms require exporting data from an organization’s data warehouse and this often requires down sampling, reformatting and significant delays, making predictive analytics more likely to accept compromises on accuracy and actionable results. Google also announced some new geospatial capabilities in “public alpha” (although, I am not really sure what that means!).

Vertica has included database machine learning, including a much larger selection of algorithms, as well as geospatial analytics and more for years … and need I mention that none of these capabilities in Vertica are either alpha or beta … they are generally available and production ready! In fact, you can download a trial right now.

I was also very honoured to see that Google now understands what Vertica has been advocating for years – integrating machine learning functions where the data resides allows more accurate and efficient model training and evaluation which then produce more accurate and actionable results. I expect many of our other less mature competitors in the market to see the light as well and follow Vertica’s lead.

Cloud Platform Limitations vs Vertica Flexibility

Of course, cloud providers like Amazon, Azure and Google all face a common challenge. Whatever Vertica-like functions they add, whatever Vertica-like capabilities they integrate and whatever Vertica strategy and value that they endorse, they can and will only do so for data on their own cloud platforms.

Vertica is not limited to a single underlying infrastructure or to a single location for all the data. Vertica runs on AWS, Azure and Google and can apply all of its in database machine learning and advanced analytics to data on all three of the major cloud platforms. Vertica can also analyze data stored in Hadoop and AWS S3 without the need to move that data. Vertica can read and write ORC and Parquet file formats regardless of the storage platform on which they reside. This is an element of Vertica’s market leadership that cannot be duplicated but is definitely envied by many of our competitors … and highly valued by our global customers!

Every industry is facing the reality that historical reporting is a thing of the past. Companies who rely only on history to make decisions will find themselves in history books but not on the NYSE or FTSE or S&P 500.  As Ray Wang from Constellation Research has said, “Digital Darwinism is unkind to those who wait” … one of my very favorite quotes. Digital Darwinism has not only moved past historical reporting and traditional business intelligence but it is rapidly moving to a new set of expectations for predictive analytics as well – accuracy by analyzing ALL the data and action by analyzing in REAL TIME at scale. This is a huge win for the business analyst community who have been frustrated by the system limitations that hamper their impact on their business responsibilities. But not anymore – Vertica to the rescue!

The Vertica Advantage

No need to wait for Google, Vertica provides everything you need right now.  Want to learn more? Get up in minutes with Vertica by the Hour on AWS or download the Community Edition directly onto whatever infrastructure works best for you.  Still in the research phase?  We’ve got you covered there too! Here is all you need to know about Predictive Analytics powered by Vertica’s Machine Learning and look me up on Twitter if you want to talk more.

Originally Posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2018 in the MyVertica blogsite.

 

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