IBM makes it easier to stand the weather

IBM is looking to give retailers an edge in dealing with the effects of the weather, with help from the Internet of Things (IoT).



The technology firm has entered into an agreement to acquire The Weather Company’s B2B, mobile and cloud-based web properties, including WSI, weather.com, Weather Underground and The Weather Company brand.



The planned acquisition would bring together IBM’s Watson cognitive and analytics platform and The Weather Company’s cloud data platform. The Weather Company platform will allow IBM to collect a larger variety and higher velocity of global data sets, store them, analyze them and distribute them across the Watson platform. The deal will also serve as the foundation for a new Internet of Things (IoT)-focused business unit.



“The Weather Company’s extremely high-volume data platform, coupled with IBM’s global cloud and the advanced cognitive computing capabilities of Watson, will be unsurpassed in the Internet of Things, providing our clients significant competitive advantage as they link their business and sensor data with weather and other pertinent information in real time,” said John Kelly, senior VP, IBM Solutions Portfolio and Research. “This powerful cloud platform will position IBM to arm entire industries with deep multimodal insights that will help enterprises gain clarity and take action from the oceans of data being generated around them.”



Upon closing, IBM will acquire The Weather Company product and technology assets that include the meteorological data science experts, precision forecasting capabilities and a high-volume cloud platform that ingests, processes, analyzes and distributes data sets at scale in real time.



For example, predictive weather analytics coupled with real-time analysis of social media chatter, detailed understanding of transportation flows and other related data can help retailers and distributors fine-tune and maintain availability of vital goods in times of need.



Earlier this year, The Weather Company announced plans to shift the weather data services platform that powers its B2B division to the IBM Cloud. Although financial details were not disclosed, media reports have estimated the deal to be worth $2 billion.



The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearance and is expected to close in first quarter 2016.