WP3: Localization, User profiling and Business Models

Different geographical areas and markets have their own local climates, hazardous weather phenomena and levels of infrastructure. Therefore, the need for information and services also varies. In addition, different customers have different needs. WP3 will map the special needs of different markets, and profile the customer needs. The work will include an assessment of societal benefits of targeted service business models in selected target markets. Assessment of business models will be done in close co-operation with the chosen research partners in the selected target markets.

Case studies of documented, historical weather-related events in different geographical areas and conditions will be carried out for the assessment of impacts and hypothetical benefits of prior knowledge of their occurrence in form of warnings, damage prevention and mitigation, as well as in recovery actions. For example, flash flooding due to orographic rain and suitable topography call for different services than those for river flooding due to monsoon. In addition, different regional scale or different climate conditions may require different setup or maintenance arrangements for the observation network. Finally, different levels of infrastructure impose different limitations how information can be distributed to the customers.

The objective is to determine what issues need to be solved when technologies developed and methods applied in Finland are used in other countries with different environments. The results produced in this WP will be utilized in WP4 to enable the generation of optimized products and services for various types of customer groups, geographical areas, and market environments.

City skyline in Brazil. Photo: Risto Hillamo.