IBM Integrates Weather APIs into Bluemix

We were early users of weather data in retail and supply chain analytics, this would have been very useful. Integration with cognitive links in particular are intriguing.  Note this includes both data and forecasting capabilities from the Weather Co.  Which could let you predict things like the demand of products influenced by weather, both current and future. Will be interesting to see what other things
come out of this evolution.

(Update)    I missed mentioning one of the most obvious direct applications: Agribusiness. When we were still in the coffee business could we have predicted flavor components based on past weather data? Which then could have been used to change components of green coffee blends?  .....

IBM Just Made It Easier to Build Apps That Harness the Weather

" ... Today’s announcement—putting the Weather Company API on BlueMix—means it will be less of a hassle for developers to add weather data to their next great app. “If you were building an app on BlueMix and wanted to add weather prior to this Weather Company add on, you’d have to open a new window go to the Weather Company’s platform, get an API key, deal with billing, subscription services, all the normal administrivia that comes from sourcing data from many places,” says Bryson Koehler, the Weather Company’s chief information and technology officer. Which isn’t necessarily a huge pain, but think about it this way: If you were building a couch, would you visit one store for the lumber, another for the screws, another for the saws to cut the lumber, another for the drill to use the screws … or would you just go to Home Depot and grab all that crap at once? .... " 

But hey, not everyone likes Home Depot. So how is BlueMix as a one-stop API shop? (If you don’t know, APIs are programs that let other programs and apps talk to each other.) Well, it’s IBM, so it is pretty thorough. Beyond the basic starter kits for various API fucntions (banking, Internet of Things, cloud computing), it lets you access cool stuff like Watson’s cognitive computing tools, so you can do creepy things like build psychological profiles of the consumers using your app. .... "