Weather Intelligence Cost & Pricing Guide – 2
One question we get a lot here at Earth Networks is “How does pricing work?” While this question may seem like an easy one to answer, there is a lot that goes into it. In fact, pricing for weather tools and services can get a bit complicated.
To provide some clarity and help you navigate the complexities of a reliable weather solution, we’ve put together this helpful pricing guide to give you an idea of what to expect when chatting with one of our representatives.
In this pricing guide, we will cover:
Pricing Considerations
Your Weather-Related Needs
Your Geography
Your Key Stakeholders
Subscriptions vs. One-Time Purchase
Scroll down to dig into the details or submit a request now to speak with an account manager about your custom weather solution and pricing.
Get Detailed Pricing
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your organization and what brings you here. We’ll call you to make sure we understand exactly what you’re looking for and follow up with detailed pricing.
Calling you is the fastest way for our team to evaluate your weather intelligence needs.
On the call, one of our account managers will ask you about the different elements outlined in this pricing guide, namely:
- Weather-Related Needs
- Geography
- Key Stakeholders
- Subscription Type
After the call, we will send you a detailed pricing package that meets your needs.
Let’s get started!
Costs of Weather Intelligence: Things to Consider
The most difficult thing about pricing is that there is no one-size-fits-all weather intelligence solution. This is true for several reasons, but it boils down to these four consideration points:
Your weather-related needs
Your organization’s geography
How many key stakeholders you have
The cost difference of subscribing vs. one-time purchase
First, let’s look at what you weather-related needs (alerting, monitoring, forecasting) as this will help you identify what tools you need to build out your solution.
Then, we’ll take a look at the other key consideration areas to empower you to purchase the weather intelligence solution you need.
What Are Your Weather-Related Needs?
Most weather intelligence needs fall into the following three categories:
Weather Alerting
Weather Monitoring
Weather Forecasting
You may have only one need or all three. The amount and combination of needs that your weather solution will impact price.
Let’s dig into what these three weather-related needs really are to see which one(s) fit your needs.
Weather Alerting
Weather alerting systems display warnings through:
Text messages
Emails
Phone calls
Organizations use weather alerting software and hardware to prepare themselves and/or others for incoming severe weather. The most effective of these systems are automatic ones. You should also look for the ability to customize weather alerts based on location, condition, and timing.
The goal for alerting is to keep people safe by letting them know when to suspend any risky operations and to let them know when it’s all clear to resume business as usual.
Weather Monitoring
Weather monitoring involves keeping an eye on real-time weather conditions and forecasts. Most people think of weather monitoring as radar and satellite, but there are dozens of weather variables you can monitor, and these are available as layers in weather visualization software. Some useful layers you may want to monitor include:
Real-time lightning strikes
Snow amount forecast
Wet bulb globe temperature
Sea level pressure
Tropical storms
This data is gathered by equipment and then sent to a weather visualization platform, like a weather map. Organizations use weather monitoring tools to watch conditions that could impact their operations. It’s important that weather monitoring tools are accurate and updated in real time. The ability to mix different weather layers to customize your weather monitoring experience is also important for most organizations that care about more than one condition.
The goal for monitoring is to keep your organization informed and ready to make critical weather-related decisions.
Weather Forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. Weather forecasts are made by collecting quantitative data about the current state of the atmosphere at a given place and using meteorology to project how the atmosphere will change.
Organizations use forecasts to plan for the coming hours and days. Most organizations that use forecasts to plan their operations access them through
Daily emails
Weather visualization software
While you don’t need a meteorologist to access forecasting services, having one on call can be a very valuable asset.
Take some time to answer the question: “Why do I need a weather intelligence solution?” Think about the problems you’re facing. Which of these will help fix those problems?
Some reasons you might need professional help with forecasts:
You host multiple events outdoors, with or without spectators or
Operate a multi-location organization with differing weather conditions or
Have staff or important assets in the path of severe weather
You have equipment or features that are sensitive to particular weather challenges like high winds or extreme temperatures
What’s Your Geography?
The next consideration that impacts pricing of weather intelligence solutions is geography.
This can easily be broken up into two sections
Coverage Area
Remote Locations
Coverage influences the cost of any weather solution. The larger the area you need to alert, monitor, or forecast for the more money you may end up spending. This can be mitigated by switching to a subscription package but hold that thought for now.
Organizations that typically have a large coverage area include:
Town, county, state, or government agencies
International businesses
Transportation & logistics organizations
Electric & utility companies
These areas will most likely have more stakeholders than a single-site organization.
The second geographical consideration is where on the globe are you. Most weather solution providers can’t access remote locations. That’s tough for those in developing countries or near challenging terrain, like mountains.
For those weather providers like Earth Networks that can provide alerting, monitoring, and forecasting services in the world’s most remote corners, your geography can influence price. For example, if there isn’t electricity or internet at your location we may have to reconfigure your application for solar power and cellular data transfer to keep your location functional.
How Many Key Stakeholder Groups Do You Have?
The next consideration is your stakeholders.
Your price will vary based on how many key stakeholder groups need access. You should think about how many people need access to your weather tools and how many facilities need access, as well.
Your organization could cover a large area but if just one person is accessing weather data, for example, your price could be lower than a smaller operation with multiple alerting accounts.
Keep in mind that not every group will need every tool in your arsenal. Our staff will help you assess which key stakeholder groups need access to what tools based on your specific weather goals. The level of access for each group will also help determine the final price.
Subscribing vs. One-time Purchase
The fourth and final consideration is how you choose to pay. Some organizations offer discounts for those who choose to subscribe rather than make a one-time purchase. We are one of them.
When you choose a subscription package from us, like Sferic Protect, you don’t have to pay a large upfront fee. Instead, you pay a manageable, yearly subscription that covers everything (hardware, software, maintenance, etc.) so you can easily meet your weather intelligence goals. The longer you choose to utilize your tools the greater the savings are.
If subscribing isn’t for you, don’t worry: It’s not mandatory. But this is an important consideration that goes into pricing determinations on a few of our offerings and products.
What’s Your Price?
After reading through this pricing guide, it’s easy to see why there isn’t one flat rate for our weather solutions. While the prices don’t change as frequently as the weather, each customer needs something a little bit different. Everything from your goals for adopting a weather solution to your location to your purchase method matters. Each organization we work with is unique and has their own specific weather concerns. The one goal we always strive to meet is that every customer has a price they feel meets the overall value of the solution we are providing.
Ready for the Earth Networks team to build a customizable weather solution for your organization? Contact us to get your detailed pricing today. While our team reviews your pricing request, feel free to explore our website and see what tools might be included in your weather intelligence solution.