Choosing Azure Cognitive Services

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not exactly a new topic of discussion: we have always desired computers that are able to do more for us. In the tools we use every day, AI is present. Whether you are using your smartphone's virtual assistant or recommendations it is making to you based on the patterns it has cataloged from your activities, you are using AI. For instance, I do my grocery shopping on Sunday mornings, and my phone knows where I am going and tells me how long it will take to get there. This is becoming more pervasive in our lives every day, whether using our phone, computer, thermostat, sprinkler system, or the far too many more applications to mention. Unless you are willing to up and move "off the grid", AI is here to stay, so you had better get used to it!

Many organizations are looking to employ AI to help streamline operations and help their businesses be even better at what they are already good at. With this in mind, Microsoft created Azure Cognitive Services as a quick and easy way to implement AI for deployment in a multitude of ways. By giving customers the ability to implement cognitive services and connect to them various applications the business is using, it helps streamline the process of taking advantage of what AI can do for an organization.

As we go through the book and provide samples and solutions, keep an eye out for areas where we see the most improvement. The reason behind this is likely to be a better design choice than building a solution from scratch. The development of these products took many years and cannot be replicated in a reasonably timely fashion. Of course, there will always be unique situations that cannot be satisfied with "canned" software products, but the heart of the conversation of this book is building value for your business in both a cost-effective and a timely manner.

Now, let's get started by looking at our fictional scenario: Ocean Smart.