Although common wisdom claims that there are only two constants (death and taxes), there's actually one more for the list: weather.
Updates on temperature, storms, humidity, and other weather factors have become crucial for many types of businesses, from farmers to data center managers. "Weather impacts 43 percent of America's GDP," says meteorologist Paul Douglas. "It's rare to find a company that doesn't have some type of weather exposure."
Douglas and his team at
WeatherNation are working to meet demand for meteorological insight with a multi-level approach. Launched in 2008, the company is now poised for growth, after a few years of developing a unique strategy for outsourcing.
WeatherNation provides data and info to cable stations--recently, it launched a 24/7 weather channel for the state of Kentucky--and has a national channel of its own. The firm has expanded from one studio to three, and continues to add meteorologists to its team of 12, Douglas says.
"We're looking beyond broadcast and cable into opportunities like mobile and new apps," he notes. "We want to make sure that people can get personalized weather information on any device, anywhere."
Catering to business clients is another major part of WeatherNation's approach, he adds. Clients like
Wells Fargo,
Polaris, and
Home Depot depend on the company to help with energy efficiency efforts. Next up for the company is partnership with wind turbine manufacturers, to pair wind forecasts with technology.
"Weather is becoming more extreme," says Douglas. "That's the bad news. But with technological breakthroughs, mobility, and improvements in severe storm alerts, we have more tools that will help companies stay ahead of the weather."
Source: Paul Douglas, WeatherNation
Writer: Elizabeth Millard