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IBM Watson Studio vs Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Watson Studio
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
11th
Ranking in AI Development Platforms
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Azure Machine Lea...
Ranking in Data Science Platforms
4th
Ranking in AI Development Platforms
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Data Science Platforms category, the mindshare of IBM Watson Studio is 2.1%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio is 5.7%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Science Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Abilio Duarte - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly robust and well-documented platform that simplifies the complex world of AI
The main challenge lies in visibility and ease of use. Providing training sessions can be immensely helpful in helping users navigate and understand the tool's potential. This approach would empower users to explore and make the most of the tools and technologies at their disposal. Another area where IBM could enhance its offering is by providing more visibility to end users regarding the vast potential that Watson offers.
HéctorGiorgiutti - PeerSpot reviewer
Requires minimal maintenance, is scalable, and stable
The initial setup depends on the developer's knowledge of machine learning models as to whether it is easy or difficult. With a good understanding of these models, then we can get to work quickly in the environment. With 20 years of experience in IT, making applications on legacy platforms and non-web platforms, I have found that Azure has a very good implementation. The platform is so comprehensive that it doesn't matter what kind of work we do, we can find the tools needed to get the job done. In comparison to what I was doing five years ago, Azure is a great platform and I really enjoy working with it. We should allocate up to 12 percent of our project time to deployment. Depending on the complexity of the solution, we should expect to spend more time on deployment.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Stability-wise, it is a great tool."
"The most important thing is that it's a multi-faceted solution. It's a kind of specialist, not a generalist. It can produce very specific information for the customer. It's totally different from Google or any search engine that produces generic information. It's specialty is that it's all on video."
"The scalability of IBM Watson Studio is great."
"It has a lot of data connectors, which is extremely helpful."
"It is a stable, reliable product."
"It stands out for its substantial AI capabilities, offering a broad spectrum of features for crafting solutions that meet specific requirements."
"It has greatly improved the performance because it is standardized across the company."
"Watson Studio is the most complete tool for AI projects."
"It's easy to deploy."
"The solution is integrated with our Microsoft Azure tenant, and we don't have to go anywhere else outside the tenant."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the availability of ChatGPT in the solution."
"The drag-and-drop interface of Azure Machine Learning Studio has greatly improved my workflow."
"The most valuable feature is its compatibility with Tensorflow."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio is the ease of use for starting projects. It's simple to connect and view the results. Additionally, the solution works well with other Microsoft solutions, such as Power Automate or SQL Server. It is easy to use and to connect for analytics."
"The integration with Azure services enhances workflow and meets my expectations."
"The solution is very fast and simple for a data science solution."
 

Cons

"I want IBM's technical support team to provide more specific answers to queries."
"Initially, it was quite complex. For us, it was not only a matter of getting it installed, that was just a start. It was also trying to come up with a standard way of implementing it across the entire organization, which had been a challenge."
"So a better user interface could be very helpful"
"Watson Studio would be improved with a clearer path for the deployment of docker images."
"More features in data virtualization would be helpful. The solution could use an interactive dashboard that could make exploration easier."
"The decision making in their decision making feature is less good than other options."
"The solution's interface is very slow at times."
"We would like to see it less as one big, massive product, but more based on smaller services that we can then roll out to consumers."
"The data cleaning functionality is something that could be better and needs to be improved."
"The regulatory requirements of the product need improvement."
"n the solution, there is the concept of workspaces, and there is no means to share the computing infrastructure across those workspaces."
"Overall, the icons in the solution could be improved to provide better guidance to users. Additionally, the setup process for the solution could be made easier."
"In terms of improvement, I'd like to have more ability to construct and understand the detailed impact of the variables on the model. Their algorithms are very powerful and they explain overall the net contribution of each of the variables to the solution. In terms of being able to say to people "If you did this, you'll get this much more improvement" it wasn't great."
"If you want to be able to deploy your tools outside of Microsoft Azure, this is not the best choice."
"They should have a desktop version to work on the platform."
"The speed of deployment should be faster, as should testing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is generally reasonable and straightforward but can vary significantly depending on the specific workloads in use."
"IBM Watson Studio is an expensive solution."
"Watson Studio's pricing is reasonable for what you get."
"IBM Watson Studio is a reasonably priced product"
"From a developer's perspective, I find the price of this solution high."
"The product is not that expensive."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being very expensive. Not very expensive, not very cheap."
"On a scale from one to ten, with ten being overpriced, I would rate the price of this solution at six."
"My team didn't deal with the licensing for Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio, so I'm unable to comment on pricing, but the money that was spent on the tool was worth it."
"The solution operates on a pay-per-use model."
"I am paying for it following a pay-as-you-go. So, the more I use it, the more it costs."
"ML Studio's pricing becomes a numbers game."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Watson Studio?
The pricing of Watson Studio is justified by the benefits and power it offers.
What needs improvement with IBM Watson Studio?
One area that could be improved is the backup and restoration of the database and the overall database configuration. There were also challenges with programming the network extension in the last p...
Which do you prefer - Databricks or Azure Machine Learning Studio?
Databricks gives you the option of working with several different languages, such as SQL, R, Scala, Apache Spark, or Python. It offers many different cluster choices and excellent integration with ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio?
The learning curve is very low. Operationalizing the model is also very easy within the Azure ecosystem.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio?
Pricing is considered to be top-segment and should be improved. I rate the pricing as three or four on a scale of one to ten in terms of affordability.
 

Also Known As

Watson Studio, IBM Data Science Experience, Data Science Experience, DSx
Azure Machine Learning, MS Azure Machine Learning Studio
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

GroupM, Accenture, Fifth Third Bank
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Schneider Electric, BP
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Watson Studio vs. Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.