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

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

*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.

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.

Reasons to Purchase

*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.

Report Highlights
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.
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Table of Contents 2
Table of figures 3
Analysis 4
Utilities' future investment in data centers will be considerable 4
Smart metering is the most important driver for investments in utilities' data centers 4
The visibility that smart meters give in terms of consumption allows utilities to better manage demand 4
The cost of additional visibility is an exponential growth of data 10
The growth in data will lead to an increased burden on both storage and server requirements 10
Smart meters are not the only driver for data center investment 11
The different regulatory framework creates different opportunities in different geographies 11
There are clear arguments to support the case for the adoption of data services by utilities 13
There are clear arguments to support the case for the adoption of data services by utilities 13
The opportunities will be long term and there are many cultural barriers to overcome 14
Smart meter-driven data center opportunities will manifest in the medium to long term ... 14
... with only a handful of examples of utilities currently procuring data center services ... 14
... due to significant barriers to entry 14
Fears of losing control of quality of service abound 15
Utilities have not historically used outsourcing solutions 15
Utilities are traditionally conservative 15
Security is a great concern to utilities CIOs 17
Recommendations for vendors 18
Act soon 18
Combat conservatism through industry alliances 18
Demonstrate a commitment to data security 18
Go armed with strong service level agreements 18
Choose geographies carefully 19
Remember that utilities are heavily regulated 19
Focus on areas of business that are most easily won 19
APPENDIX 20
Definitions 20
Methodology 20
Ask the analyst 20
Datamonitor consulting 20
Disclaimer 20
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List of Tables
List of Figures
Figure 1: Typical demand curve of energy use 5
Figure 2: Electricity above baseloads becomes increasingly expensive 7
Figure 3: The least liberalized markets in Western Europe have the most rapid adoption of smart metering 12
Figure 4: Utilities' objectives for 2009 focus on data and database management, rather than data center management 16
Figure 5: Security is the highest ranked objective for utility CIOs in 2009 17
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