Azure Machine Learning vs. IBM ILOG CPLEX Optimization Studio

Azure can be a more unified product. It feels like 10 different tech teams were building it but we're not talking to each other. An example is when the user needs to know what is the next step. Automatically saving a previous state is very helpful as new users are usually not aware of the functionality.

Incentivized

In my opinon, if the problem is less than 5000 variables, one should try to solve with free available solver rather than directly going for a commercial license of IBM CPLEX Optimization Studio. In my opinion, if the priority is not in terms of solving time with higher number of variables, even then one can go for free solvers like CBC, IPOPT, SCIP. In my opinion, if priority is solving time and number of variables is also high, only in that case one should prefer going for a commercial license.

• Easy to create the experiment.
• Easy to adopt the best algorithm.
• Efficient way to deploy the model as a web service.
• Centralized platform for the life cycle of machine learning goal.

• Linear Programming
• Mixed-Integer Linear Programming
• Non-Linear Convex-Optimization
• Visualization
• Shadow Price Analysis
• Parameter Tuning

• Few models: Even though it has a lot of Machine Learning models, it is quite limited when compared to R. Most Data Scientists still use and prefer R, so the newest models tend to release as R libraries. With Azure ML, we need to wait for Microsoft to evaluate and decide if including a new model is a good idea or not
• Tableau interface: last time I checked there was no easy way to connect with Tableau.
• Cloud based: You always need a good internet connection to use it.

Incentivized

• Data handling from different sources like Note Pad, etc.
• Large size of MILP problems.
• Various parameters to set.

Good UX/UI and overall good usability, but it takes a while to get used to the product & platform. The whole design seems fragmented with little in terms of integration with project management tools such as JIRA, or wireframing. Overall it feels like an unfinished product that's meant for teaching more than for production.

Incentivized

It's nice to use and with good optimization.

I'm satisfied with the Azure Machine Learning Studio- it fulfilled my goal in a single channel. Even haven't worr[ied] about the maintenance or any fault tolerance. This provide[s] the user interactive UI to grab the features easily. [Their] support teams also very help[ful], they stand with us at any time.

Honestly, to say, I never contacted CPLEX but used its forum to know/clarify any issues I faced.

Not sure

The answer is quite simple: Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Workbench is the cheapest and most user friendly analytics tool I have ever seen! Unless you are running a team of data scientists, this is the tool to go. Most functions (marketing, sales, finance, supply chain, logistics, HR, R&D, etc.) could easily integrate Azure ML in its day to day activity.

Incentivized

Compared with MATLAB, CPLEX is a more user-friendly and simpler structure for writing models. This one also has a good return on investment.

• It is easy to learn and construct, which impacts directly on productivity.
• Good for experimentation and validation for simple models.
• Has a use cost less than the best alternatives in the market.

Incentivized

• Better for price.
• Many model parameters/features.
• No visualization.