IBM supercomputer Watson will answer questions with Twitter data
IBM hopes the new service will go beyond simple brand sentiment analysis


IBM is to bring social media data from Twitter to its Watson Analytics service, with tweets to also become available on its Bluemix cloud developer environment.
The company first announced a partnership with Twitter in October last year, gaining access to the social media site's database going back into 2009.
Since then, Twitter has announced IBM as it's only global consulting partner, and this week's announcement fulfills the promise of integration between the company's services.
Ginni Rometty, IBM CEO, said: "Twitter provides a powerful new lens through which to look at the world as both a platform for hundreds of millions of consumers and business professionals, and as a synthesiser of trends.
"This partnership, drawing on IBM's leading cloud-based analytics platform, will help clients enrich business decisions with an entirely new class of data. This is the latest example of how IBM is reimagining work."
And Chris Moody, VP of data strategy at Twitter, gave an example of how it might work, saying: "This relationship will enable IBM solutions like the famous computer Watson to access Twitter data as an input for multi-variable, pattern-dependent questions like 'What do customers like best about my products?' or 'Why are we growing quickly in Brazil?'"
Alistair Rennie, IBM Analytics general manager, said the enhancement to Watson Analytics has so far garnered 150 customer "engagements", claiming that the service goes beyond simply sentiment analysis of brands on Twitter.
Get the ITPro daily newsletter
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
"It's in demand signalling, the supply chain and customer churn models," he said. "One example is how employee retention has an impact on retail sales."
With the data taken from the social media platform, customers can more easily identify patterns and attach reasoning to customer behaviour.
This is boosted by the service's combining of information from a number of different data sources.
"The skillset needed to use that is similar to what you'd need for a spreadsheet, but it delivers very powerful analytics," Rennie added.
"People are not approaching this saying we'll take two years and have a long strategy. They want to do this quickly, get an insight, make a decision. And it is not expensive Watson Analytics is a freemium tool."
The Watson Analytics service does cost $30 per month, however, though with Bluemix, developers can access up to five million tweets for free, before a pay-as-you-go model kicks in when developers' apps are up and running.
Industries that have so far used the Twitter data service include financial services, insurance, consumer events, telecommunications, utilities and sporting events, according to IBM.
Caroline has been writing about technology for more than a decade, switching between consumer smart home news and reviews and in-depth B2B industry coverage. In addition to her work for IT Pro and Cloud Pro, she has contributed to a number of titles including Expert Reviews, TechRadar, The Week and many more. She is currently the smart home editor across Future Publishing's homes titles.
You can get in touch with Caroline via email at caroline.preece@futurenet.com.
-
Women show more team spirit when it comes to cybersecurity, yet they're still missing out on opportunities
News While they're more likely to believe that responsibility should be shared, women are less likely to get the necessary training
By Emma Woollacott
-
OpenAI's new GPT-4.1 models miss the mark on coding tasks
News OpenAI says its GPT-4.1 model family offers sizable improvements for coding, but tests show competitors still outperform it in key areas.
By Ross Kelly
-
Amazon’s new Lookout for Metrics monitors your organization’s KPIs
News Lookout for Metrics uses machine learning to detect anomolies
By Mike Brassfield
-
TikTok to open first European data centre in Ireland
News The move could signify a desire to shift its operations away from the US as well as secure its position in the European market
By Sabina Weston
-
What is Network Intelligence?
In-depth A look at the technology enabling businesses to analyse data packets in real-time
By Esther Kezia Thorpe
-
MPs in a muddle over GDPR and storing voters' personal data
News Labour MP Chris Bryant says his staff were told to delete constituents' data
By Bobby Hellard
-
Three keys to successful data management
In-depth Companies need to take a fresh look at data management to realise its true value
By Esther Kezia Thorpe
-
Trump resort will not be charged for breaching data laws
News Presidential hopeful's Scottish golf course failed to register under the Data Protection Act for four years
By Adam Shepherd
-
Basho open sources its database for the Internet of Things
News NoSQL database gives developers better API support
By Adam Shepherd
-
Banks urged to share data but warned over security
News Experts voice concern over security of open API recommendations
By Rene Millman