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
The second episode of CMO’s 3-part video series on how CMO50 luminaries are achieving greater marketing agility has landed!
The humble unboxing video is a powerful tool. Correctly executed, it harnesses consumer fandom, viral authenticity and brand design magic to deliver a high-impact message to a tightly targeted cohort of consumers.
Purpose is the ultimate statement of intent for many organisations. Why are we here? What are we trying to achieve?
Warren Buffet is an unlikely ally for marketers. But his belief businesses need strategic moats that increase their value in the market while acting as barriers to competitors can offer marketers a new playbook for brand building and driving growth.
who wants to date me I am 9 years old and i am a boy
Jeremy Hawkins
Sink a sub gaming experience signals Subway's renewed brand push
Great read. I agree that it should be a perfect balance between interacting with your customers and knowing your brand. As a business, yo...
Caroline Scott
7 ways CMOs can improve their customer engagement game
Very true. Team development helps improve collaboration among the team members. I was able to improve my team's collaboration skills by t...
Quent Sinder
Why empowering others can help make you a great leader
CRM is a very good software that can help you succeed in your business. In my company, this system has allowed me to improve customer rel...
Anna Janicka
Sensis rebrands to Thryv and brings business software to Australian SMBs
AI Leasing Assistants have finally arrived for the multifamily industry. With so many to choose from it can be hard to figure out which i...
Alice Labs Pte. Ltd.
CMO's top 8 martech stories for the week - 6 May 2021