Data science is the next big thing for agriculture, according to Monsanto
Agribusiness giant Monsanto is paying US$930 million to acquire the Climate Corporation, maker of a software platform that crunches weather-related data in order to help farmers more effectively grow crops.
"Everyone benefits when farmers are able to produce more with fewer resources," Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said in a statement released Wednesday.
Founded in 2006, the Climate Corporation has built a platform that pulls together "hyper-local weather monitoring, agronomic data modeling, and high-resolution weather simulations," according to a statement.
The goal is to give farm operators the information they need to choose the right insurance coverage to protect their profits against the advent of bad weather. The Climate Corporation itself offers specialized insurance policies.
Data science could be a $20 billion market "beyond Monsanto's core focus today," the company said.
The Climate Corporation's founders include a number of former Google employees. Its initial name was WeatherBill.
Rival seed producer DuPont Pioneer has also been racing to bring specialized data-analysis software to market. Its Pioneer Field360 platform, announced earlier this year, is a subscription service that combines weather data with interactive field maps and tools for tracking their growth.
The products reflect a continuing move toward vertical applications in the broader "big data" analytics market.
Big data refers to the massive amounts and varieties of information, particularly in unstructured form, being generated by websites, sensors, social media and other sources. While programming frameworks such as Hadoop are widely used to analyze these large data sets, vendors are moving quickly to provide big data applications for various industries that take care of the heavy lifting.
On Monday, IBM announced it would acquire the Now Factory, maker of analytic software for communication services providers. Terms of that deal were not disclosed.
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris' email address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com
In our fifth and final episode, we delve into the relationship between retailer and supplier and how it drives and influences launch marketing strategies and success. To do that, we’re joined by Campbell Davies, group general manager of Associated Retailers Limited, and Kristin Viccars, marketing director A/NZ, Apex Tool Group. Also featured are Five by Five Global managing director, Matt Lawton, and CMO’s Nadia Cameron.
With continued advances in marketing technology, data privacy continues to play catchup in terms of regulation, safety and use. The laws that do exist are open to interpretation and potential misuse and that has led to consumer mistrust and increasing calls for a stronger regulatory framework to protect personal information.
Environmental, Social and (Corporate) Governance is a hot topic for brands right now. But before you start thinking about doing good, Craig Flanders says you best sort out the basics.
Through the ages, from the fields to the factories to the office towers and now to our kitchen tables, collaboration has played a pivotal role in how we live and work. Together. We find partners, live as families, socialise in groups and work as teams. Ultimately, we rely on these collaborative structures to survive and thrive.
Nowadays, when everything is being done online, it is good to know that someone is trying to make an improvement. As a company, you are o...
Marcus
10 lessons Telstra has learnt through its T22 transformation
Check out tiny twig for comfy and soft organic baby clothes.
Morgan mendoza
Binge and The Iconic launch Inactivewear clothing line
NetSuite started out as a cloud-based provider of Enterprise Resource Planning software or as NetSuite solution provider, which companies...
talalyousaf
NetSuite to acquire Bronto's digital marketing platform for US$200m
Thanks for sharing this post, its really good information I get through this blog.CDPO Online Exam Training
Infosectrain01
3 ways Booking.com is improving its B2B marketing game
Time is of the essence, especially for customer service teams. With chatbots, you can interact and assist customers at a larger scale, al...
Jai
Triple-digit customer database growth, personalised engagement become reality for Stone & Wood