Met Office goes for CA API Management to deliver new web and mobile data services

Big data and big business increasingly go hand-in-hand for the Met Office

The Met Office is to use API Management software from CA Technologies in a bid to make it easier for the Met Office, as well as third parties, to deliver a wider range of online weather services to the web and mobile devices.

As Ewen discussed with Computing this week, the Met Office's core "business" is becoming more complicated than ever, with the organisation tasked with disseminating forecast and climate data to more people and other organisations than ever before. Indeed, each forecast that the Met Office calculates today involves some 400GB per run.

CA's software, therefore, is intended to help streamline the process by which the Met Office electronically shares data with partners, create new weather services, and improve the organisation's service to the public, regardless of how they choose to interact with the Met Office.

Both cloud computing and mobile have increased demand for the Met Office's services, as well as expectations. But they also present new opportunities for the organisation to extend its reach and to increase revenues. Indeed, the burgeoning demand for detailed weather information from industry was the motivating factor behind systems giant IBM's recent acquisition of The Weather Company.

The Met Office will be able to launch new mobile app-based services, aimed at both the public and organisations like the armed forces for the purpose of planning exercises, for example. They will also be able to provide more information to the energy, retail and other sectors where the weather can have a big impact.

"The Met Office combines the latest science with ground-breaking advances in technology and local understanding to deliver operational advantage to our customers. We need to have the necessary knowledge, experience and flexibility to be able to apply our science across business and government to manage risks and opportunities as they arise from our weather," said Met Office CIO Charles Ewen.

He continued: "CA API Management will underpin the next-generation of the Met Office services, allowing the organisation to safely share its data and applications with partners, developers, mobile apps and cloud services."

In addition to CA, the Met Office also worked with PC distributor and services company Computacenter on the implementation.

Milko Van Duijl, senior vice president of UK and Ireland for CA Technologies, said that the software would "help power the next generation of digital services at the Met Office".

He added:"CA's API Management software will enable the Met Office to monetise its weather and climate data, accelerate mobile services development, and grow the organisation."

The Met Office creates up to 3,000 tailored weather and climate forecasts, and briefings every day. It has recently upgraded its supercomputer estate from IBM to 140 tonnes of Intel-powered Cray XC40s. It uses APIs to bring together data from multiple sources, as well as helping to communicate and share information with third parties.

The Met Office was established in 1854 as a small department within the Board of Trade, and issued its first gale warning in 1859. The Met Office today is organised as a "Trading Fund" within the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BISS). That follows its transformation into an executive agency in the Ministry of Defence in 1990, and its transfer to BISS in 2011.

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