Machine learning operations (MLOps) is quickly becoming a critical component of successful data science project deployment in the enterprise. It’s a process that helps organizations and business leaders generate long-term value and reduce risk associated with data science, machine learning, and AI initiatives. Yet it’s a relatively new concept; so why has it seemingly skyrocketed into the data science lexicon overnight?

This introductory chapter delves into what MLOps is at a high level, its challenges, why it has become essential to a successful data science strategy in the enterprise, and, critically, why it is coming to the forefront now.