Big Data Management

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

AWS Data Exchange
IBM Watson Advertising 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.

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.

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Big Data Management

iMerit Unveils Innovative Solution for Radiology AI Data Challenges

iMerit | September 07, 2023

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Big Data Management

EDB Acquires Splitgraph for Data Lake and Data Warehousing Capabilities

GlobeNewswire | October 25, 2023

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Big Data

ChaosSearch Unveils LakeDB for Live Search, SQL, and GenAI Analytics

ChaosSearch | October 13, 2023

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Big Data Management

Ocient's Report Reveals Surge in Hyperscale Data's Impact on Firms

Ocient | September 25, 2023

Ocient, a renowned hyperscale data analytics platform, has recently announced the release of its second annual industry report, titled "Beyond Big Data: Hyperscale Takes Flight." The 2023 report, which is the result of a survey conducted among 500 data and IT leaders responsible for managing data workloads exceeding 150 terabytes, sheds light on the escalating significance of hyperscale data management within enterprises. It also underscores the critical requisites of time, talent, and cutting-edge technology necessary for the effective harnessing of data at scale. Building on the foundation of Ocient's inaugural Beyond Big Data survey, the 2023 report delves into the minds of IT decision-makers, seeking to unravel the challenges, investment priorities, and future prospects occupying the forefront of their agendas for 2023 and beyond. The report offers valuable year-over-year comparisons, drawing on trends identified in 2022 while also presenting fresh, timely insights that mirror the immediate concerns of enterprise leaders in the United States. Among the pivotal insights featured in this year's report are the following: Immediate Emphasis on Data Quality: Organizations committed to leveraging their hyperscale data for critical business decisions are placing paramount importance on ensuring the highest data quality standards. Data Workload Growth as a Driving Force: Data and IT leaders are increasingly recognizing data warehousing and analytics as pivotal elements of their IT strategies, a sentiment vividly reflected in their budget allocations. AI Readiness at the Forefront: Leaders are eager participants in the AI revolution, yet they grapple with concerns surrounding security, accuracy, and trust. Innovation Hindered by Talent and Technology Gaps: Many leaders continue to struggle with the challenges of optimizing their toolsets and scaling their teams swiftly enough to meet the demands posed by hyperscale data volumes. Stephen Catanzano, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group, commented: It's clear enterprises are investing in data analytics and warehousing, especially given their costs are being driven up so high with older systems that can't handle the data that's being pushed to them. [Source – Business Wire] Chris Gladwin, Co-Founder and CEO of Ocient, stated that data was not slowing down, and he emphasized that the results of the 2023 Beyond Big Data report confirmed the significance of hyperscale data workloads for enterprises across various industries. He also noted that data volumes were on the rise, as was the importance of comprehending one's data. Nevertheless, the challenges related to data quality, the proliferation of tools, and staffing constraints persisted and were impeding progress in the industry. Furthermore, Gladwin mentioned that the frontier beyond big data had arrived and that Ocient's annual report illustrated the challenges and opportunities that were shaping the enterprise data strategies of the future. About Ocient Ocient is a pioneering hyperscale data analytics solutions company dedicated to empowering organizations to unlock substantial value through the analysis of trillions of data records, achieving performance levels and cost efficiencies previously deemed unattainable. The company is entrusted by leading organizations around the globe to leverage the expertise of its industry professionals in crafting and implementing sophisticated solutions. These solutions not only enable the rapid exploration of new revenue avenues but also streamline operational processes and enhance security measures, all while managing five to 10 times more data and significantly reducing storage requirements by up to 80%.

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