Smart Meters Create a Huge Opportunity for Data Services in Utilities (Analyst Insight)

Smart Meters Create a Huge Opportunity for Data Services in Utilities (Analyst Insight) published by Datamonitor in July, 2009. This report consists of 18 pages and the price starts from US $ 1895.

Introduction

Abstract

Introduction

The introduction of smart metering will see an exponential increase in the volume of data collected by utilities companies. Data centers will have to grow to keep up with the growth of data. At first glance, the opportunities for data services should be immense. However, few utilities are considering this option at present.

Scope of this research

• Identifies the potential opportunity for data services in utilities created by smart metering.
• Identifies the possible barriers to adoption of data services.
• Provides recommendations to most successfully break down these barriers.

Research and analysis highlights

While growth will be slow, the potential opportunity could be enormous.

Data hosting to support customer portals and billing processing are two areas where traction will be gained.

Key reasons to purchase this research

• Understand what will drive utilities' investment in data centers in the future.
• See what is stopping utilities from seeking ownership models to their data centers and data processing.
• See what strategies are most likely to be successful in the utilities space.

Table of Contents

OVERVIEW

• Catalyst
• Summary

ANALYSIS

• Utilities' future investment in data centers will be considerable
  • Smart metering is the most important driver for investments in utilities' data centers
  • Smart meters are not the only driver for data center investment
  • The different regulatory framework creates different opportunities in different geographies

• There are clear arguments to support the case for the adoption of data services by utilities
• The opportunities will be long term and there are many cultural barriers to overcome
  • Smart meter-driven data center opportunities will manifest in the medium to long term ...
  • ... with only a handful of examples of utilities currently procuring data center services ...
  • ... due to significant barriers to entry

• Recommendations for vendors
  • Act soon
  • Combat conservatism through industry alliances
  • Demonstrate a commitment to data security
  • Go armed with strong service level agreements
  • Choose geographies carefully
  • Remember that utilities are heavily regulated
  • Focus on areas of business that are most easily won

APPENDIX

• Definitions
• Methodology
• Ask the analyst
• Datamonitor consulting
• Disclaimer

FIGURES

• Figure: Typical demand curve of energy use
• Figure: Electricity above baseloads becomes increasingly expensive
• Figure: The least liberalized markets in Western Europe have the most rapid adoption of smart metering
• Figure: Utilities' objectives for 2009 focus on data and database management, rather than data center management
• Figure: Security is the highest ranked objective for utility CIOs in 2009

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