Deal with CA Technologies will provide new management capability for application programme interfaces
The Met Office has taken a new step in its increasing creation of application programme interfaces (APIs) with a contract with systems software company CA Technologies to use the company's API Management package.
It aims to use the software in sharing data with business partners and providing scope for app developers to use its data.
The government trading fund, which is under the umbrella of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, has a strategy to use APIs in allowing partners to push out data through their own digital channels, providing revenue that enables it to pay for its operations. It involves controlling access to the data, automating the monitoring of usage and regulating it when necessary, and building a community of developers.
The CA deal gives it the potential to tighten its management of the strategy. A spokesperson for CA said the Met Office choice was based largely on the potential to use the API gateway element of the software, which provides security for core functions in releasing data.
It also includes a developer portal with publication and analytics features, a service manager and security token service for identity federation and single sign-on.
Operational advantage
IT director Charlie Ewen, said: “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.
“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.”
Among the new services in the pipeline are weather forecasting for UK armed forces in planning exercises around the world, and space weather forecasts.
CA Technologies said it has worked with IT infrastructure services provider Computacenter to deliver the software to the Met Office. It is not disclosing details of the length and value of the contract.
Image: Met Office ops centre, from CA Technologies
