On Tuesday International Business Machines Corp said it is planning to invest $3 billion over the next four years in a new 'Internet of Things' unit.
The company aims to sell its expertise in gathering and making sense of the surge in real-time data.
The US tech company said its services will be based remotely in the cloud, and offer companies ways to make use of the new and multiplying sources of data such as building sensors, smartphones and home appliances. The service would enhance their own products.
As the first partnership, IBM said a unit of the Weather Co will move its weather data services onto IBM's cloud, so that customers can use the data together with IBM's analytics tools.
The firm is hoping that companies will be able to combine live weather forecasting with a range of business data, so companies can quickly adapt to customer buying patterns or supply chain issues connected to the weather.
For example, insurance companies could send messages to policyholders in certain areas when hailstorms are approaching and tell them safe places to park, saving money all round.
Or retail stores could compare weather forecasts with past data to predict surges or drop-offs in customer buying due to extreme weather, and to adjust staffing and supply chain logistics accordingly.
IBM was already working with some large businesses, such as German tire maker Continental AG and jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney to help them use data in their processes.
Shifting away from its traditional hardware and consulting business, IBM is now focused on the cloud.
The company's target is $40 billion in annual revenue from the cloud, big data, security and other growth areas by 2018, which should be about 45 percent of its total revenue by that time.
