Factiva vs. The Weather Company

A large part of our work depends on the ability to source quality media content from a breadth of dependable sources globally. This is Factiva's bread and butter: it has a very comprehensive list of 'quality' media sources such as nationals, dailies, business journals and magazines from around the world that are easily mined for the content they hold. If you're thinking about anything other than these 'traditional' media sources then Factiva probably isn't your thing. It doesn't do social media.

Incentivized

Well suited:

• Forecasting for severe weather events.
• Generating overall seasonal trends in upcoming weather patterns.
• Content is easy to read and understand.
• Great for business decision-makers, c-level executives.

Not well-suited:

• Year ahead forecasts.
• Data that can be trusted as finite days before a weather event. The data and forecasts can change often, so remaining up to date is key.

Incentivized

• Factiva offers excellent search builders so that I am able to narrow my search to specific companies or topics very easily.
• Factiva combines a large number of credible sources into one place and allows me to search all of these sources.
• Factiva's use of timestamps helps me understand when the news was known by the market which allows me to analyze how (if at all) that particular piece of news impacted the company's stock price.
• Provides an excellent starting place for learning about a company and/or industry.

Incentivized

• Detailed forecasts.
• Hyper-local forecasts.
• Daily updated local and meaningful forecast for our business.

Incentivized

• The UX leaves room to be desired
• There are often repetitive entries
• The functionality can be confusing

Incentivized

• Forecasts are not always accurate.
• Winter weather forecasts are now often now-casted which can be challenging for proactive planning.
• Would love to see more tips on how businesses can prepare for severe weather by the use of the Weather Company’s data.

Incentivized

Support for the Weather Company has not been an issue. The predictive analytics processes that they use allow them to remain a strong force in the world of weather patterns and forecasts. Brand recognition allows them to continue to grow and develop in a world that is not as crowded as other predictive analytics areas.

Incentivized

At the time, Factiva was already being used by the company I worked for - they had developed procedures specifically for using Factiva, so there wasn't really an option. I've used Lexis, Westlaw and Bloomberg exclusively for legal research, so there wasn't really an overlap with Factiva.

Incentivized

Insightful meteorologists that both understands the science of weather and also understands our business needs.

Incentivized

• Better confidence in the weather forecast.

Incentivized