IBM Watson Advertising Brings AI-Driven Weather Analytics to AWS Data Exchange

Rhea-AI Summary

IBM Watson Advertising has announced its data availability from The Weather Company on AWS Data Exchange, enhancing cloud-based data access for businesses. This collaboration allows companies to leverage weather data to analyze consumer purchasing behavior across categories such as pharmaceuticals and apparel, using insights derived from AI. The data includes local weather conditions, historical data, and forecasts, aiming to optimize marketing and supply chain strategies. IBM also commits $1 billion to boost its partner ecosystem over three years, supporting cloud migration efforts.

Positive

• Access to weather data enhances opportunities for businesses to analyze consumer purchasing behavior.
• AI-driven insights help optimize marketing campaigns and supply chain strategies.
• Partnership with AWS Data Exchange expands market reach and enhances data accessibility.
• IBM's $1 billion investment in its partner ecosystem supports cloud migration for enterprises.

Negative

• None.

ARMONK, N.Y., Jan. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM Watson Advertising (NYSE: IBM) today announced the availability of data from The Weather Company, an IBM Business, on AWS Data Exchange, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform. The AWS Data Exchange allows businesses to easily find and subscribe to third-party data in the cloud.

Providing data from the world's most accurate weather forecaster¹, IBM Watson Advertising's Weather Analytics harness the relationship between weather and consumer behavior using artificial intelligence to extract deep insights to help businesses make more confident, data-driven and insightful enterprise decisions. 

The weather datasets can help analyze how weather affects consumer purchasing across different categories such as pharmaceuticals, apparel, consumer packaged goods and indoor and outdoor activities. Local data by ZIP code including historical weather data, 15-day forecast weather data, and relative data such as hot, cold, windy and other conditions could also be used to help inform campaigns, supply chain and forecasting decisions. This data can even help surface unique or non-obvious relationships between weather and consumer behavior.

"We know that weather can impact nearly everything in daily life -- how we feel, what we do, even what we buy," said Sheri Bachstein, Chief Executive Officer at The Weather Company and General Manager of IBM Watson Advertising. "This expanded relationship with AWS gives more businesses access to the weather data that can drive consumer behavior and purchasing. We are committed to opening up our insights and technology to a broad set of organizations, and giving more companies access to what we know can be growth- and efficiency-driving data and tech."

Insights that show locations where weather could affect sales can help businesses drive revenue based on predictive consumer behavior. According to past IBM Watson Advertising research, data revealed that while chocolate candy bar sales generally go up in colder months across the U.S., sales can spike in the Southwest when a higher heat index is expected, and in the Northeast during muggy nights. In another example, while more bug spray is purchased during the summer months, foggy conditions in the Northwest can drive more sales while clear conditions can drive demand in central states.

AWS Data Exchange helps make it easy to find, subscribe to, and use third-party data from providers in the cloud. Subscribers can use the AWS console or APIs to load IBM Watson Advertising solutions into a wide variety of AWS analytics and machine learning services.

This is the latest example of how IBM is building together with ecosystem partners of all types to create solutions for developers to address the needs of the hybrid cloud era. IBM is committed to a $1 billion investment in its partner ecosystem over the next three years. This investment is already being utilized to support a coalition of enterprises that are helping customers migrate their mission-critical workloads using IBM's open hybrid cloud architecture.

To learn more about how IBM Watson Advertising solutions and services visit: https://www.ibm.com/watson-advertising.

About IBM Watson
Watson is IBM's AI technology for business, helping organizations to better predict and shape future outcomes, automate complex processes, and optimize employees' time. Watson has evolved from an IBM Research project, to experimentation, to a scaled, open set of products that run anywhere. With more than 40,000 client engagements, Watson is being applied by leading global brands across a variety of industries to transform how people work. To learn more, visit: https://www.ibm.com/watson.

IBM Contact:
Luca Sesti
luca.sesti@ibm.com

¹ ForecastWatch, Global and Regional Weather Forecast Accuracy Overview, 2017-2020, https://www.forecastwatch.com/AccuracyOverview2017-2020, commissioned by IBM.

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SOURCE IBM

FAQ

What new data does IBM Watson Advertising offer through AWS Data Exchange?

IBM Watson Advertising provides weather data from The Weather Company via AWS Data Exchange, allowing businesses to analyze consumer behavior influenced by weather.

How does weather data impact consumer purchasing according to IBM?

Weather data helps identify trends in consumer purchases across various categories like pharmaceuticals and apparel, showing the correlation between weather conditions and buying behavior.

What is IBM's investment plan regarding its partner ecosystem?

IBM plans to invest $1 billion in its partner ecosystem over the next three years to support cloud migration and enhance enterprise solutions.