Which authorization must a developer acquire prior to creating an IBM Watson service instance?

To create an IBM Watson service instance, a developer must obtain an IBM Bluemix account (now known as IBM Cloud). This account provides the necessary infrastructure and platform services that support various IBM Watson services. By having an IBM Cloud account, developers can manage their resources, deploy services, and utilize a variety of tools that IBM provides for building applications on their cloud platform.

While the other options can relate to different aspects of IBM’s ecosystem, they are not mandatory for creating Watson service instances. An IBM Watson Developer Cloud account is part of the overall experience, but it is accessed through the broader IBM Cloud account. An IBM Marketplace account is used to purchase services within the IBM ecosystem, and PartnerWorld is focused on partnerships rather than service creation. Therefore, establishing an IBM Cloud account is the critical first step for developers looking to create and manage Watson service instances.