Andreas Botsikas - Azure Data Scientist Associate Certification Guide: A hands-on guide to machine learning in Azure and passing the Microsoft Certified DP-100 exam

A hands-on guide to machine learning in Azure and passing the Microsoft Certified DP-100 exam

Andreas Botsikas, Ph.D.

Michael Hlobil

BIRMINGHAMMUMBAI

Copyright 2021 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the authors, nor Packt Publishing or its dealers and distributors, will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Publishing Product Manager: Aditi Gour

Senior Editor: David Sugarman

Content Development Editor: Nathanya Dias

Technical Editor: Sonam Pandey

Copy Editor: Safis Editing

Project Coordinator: Aparna Ravikumar Nair

Proofreader: Safis Editing

Indexer: Tejal Daruwale Soni

Production Designer: Vijay Kamble

First published: December 2021

Production reference: 1291021

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

35 Livery Street

Birmingham

B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-80056-500-5

www.packt.com

Andreas Botsikas is an experienced advisor working in the software industry. He has worked in the finance sector, leading highly efficient DevOps teams, and architecting and building high-volume transactional systems. He then traveled the world, building AI-infused solutions with a group of engineers and data scientists. Currently, he works as a trusted advisor for customers onboarding into Azure, de-risking and accelerating their cloud journey. He is a strong engineering professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in resource optimization with artificial intelligence from the National Technical University of Athens.

I want to thank the people who have been close to me and supported me, especially my family. Moreover, I would like to thank the Packt team and the reviewers for the tremendous support throughout the book authoring process. Finally, I would like to thank Michael, who challenged me to co-write this book. The journey was long, full of adventures, full of discoveries, exactly as I was hoping it to be.

2c9d7257ca15856e46c7c35e30d138cf

Michael Hlobil is an experienced architect focused on quickly understanding customers' business needs, with over 25 years of experience in IT pitfalls and successful projects, and is dedicated to creating solutions based on the Microsoft Platform. He has an MBA in Computer Science and Economics (from the Technical University and the University of Vienna) and an MSc (from the ESBA) in Systemic Coaching. He was working on advanced analytics projects in the last decade, including massive parallel systems and Machine Learning systems. He enjoys working with customers and supporting the journey to the cloud.

I would like to first and foremost thank my grandparents: Oma and Opa Danke fr eure unermdliche Untersttzung ohne euch wre ich nicht das geworden was ich bin!. Moreover, I would like to thank my family. My wife and my three kids: Danke fr alles was ich lernen durfte und lernen darf!. A huge thank you to Andreas: " !". Last but not least to the Packt team and the reviewers for the tremendous work they did throughout the book authoring process.

I have known Andreas and Michael from our FastTrack for Azure organization. Our core strategy is to meet customers wherever they are in their current cloud journey primarily to accelerate and de-risk cloud deployments at scale while improving the Azure platform. Both are enabling customers all over the world to become successful with their Artificial Intelligence projects. AI plays a crucial role in the digital revolution we experience every day. There are challenges with every new technology, especially when it comes to building trust in the latest technology. This book covers both how to produce AI but also covers aspects of building responsible AI. I think these two aspects makes this book so valuable. I hope you enjoy it.

Juergen Daiberl, General Manager - FastTrack for Azure Lead

The exponential growth of data and the rapid evolution of cloud computing have put topics such as data science and machine learning on top of the agenda for many organizations. Andreas and Michaels long experience with hundreds of our customers comes together in this book, combining the concepts of AI with practical guidance on how to use it in real life scenarios, using the Microsoft Azure cloud. The insights and knowledge they share will help you find the right opportunities for AI in your organization and enable you to get started. Im inspired by Andreas and Michaels work and how they live Microsofts mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

Ricardo Henriques, EMEA Lead - FastTrack for Azure

Arianna Olivelli is a marine scientist based in London. She is currently undertaking a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography. In the past, she has worked on numerical, statistical, and machine learning models focused on marine and riverine plastic pollution. In her free time, she loves to play sports and spend time outdoors.

Maria Vrabie is an engineer working in the FastTrack for Azure team within the Engineering organization at Microsoft. She is currently helping various businesses implement Azure solutions focusing on Intelligent agents, Cognitive Services, as well as analytics. Community enthusiast and inclusion advocate, she has been volunteering at different events throughout years. In her spare time, she enjoys cycling and Latin dancing.