You might think that the weather is important. Certainly, here in the UK, I do, every time I step outside the office. But did you know that ice-cream manufacturers need to know when there might be a hot spell due, so they can take full advantage of the potential sales? Or that electricity companies can call in their infrastructure teams ahead of a predicted storm? IBM is offering this weather information to others through their partnership with The Weather Company.
IBM gains the data streams produced by WSI (Weather Services International, the systems arm of The Weather Channel). WSI gains access to the IBM cloud for running their forecast platform.
IBM is touting three key areas where they foresee practical (and presumably commercial) applications of this data.
- Watson Analytics for Weather
- Cloud and Mobile App Developer tools
- Business and Operational Weather expertise
For example, insurers in the US pay $1bn in repair bills for cars damaged in hailstorms. If portions of that can be saved by proactively warning car owners to put their vehicles undercover, this can reduce repair bills by millions. This saves costs for the insurance companies but also for the insured in excess payments as well as saved hassle and time.
IBM is hoping for a slice of the $1tn of value that the weather makes to business in the US alone.
