Desiderata for next generation of ML model serving

Inference is a significant part of ML software infrastructure. Despite the variety of inference frameworks available, the field as a whole can be considered in its early days. This paper puts forth a range of important qualities that next generation of inference platforms should be aiming for. We present our rationale for the importance of each quality, and discuss ways to achieve it in practice. An overarching design pattern is data-centricity, which enables smarter monitoring in ML system operation.