September 24, 2010
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Utilities The U.S. advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) market will grow from $2.54billion in 2010 to $5.82 billion in 2015, representing an 18 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), according to Zpryme’s latest Smart Grid Insights report (PDF).
Smart meter revenues, including electric, gas, and water, are projected to grow from $1.2 billion in 2010 to $2.3 billion in 2015. The market research firm projects that Silver Spring Networks, Itron, and eMeter will be key leaders in the U.S. market over the next five years.
Zpryme says AMI is a fundamental first milestone in the development and deployment of the smart grid. Case in point: nearly 24 percent, or $818 million, of the $3.4 billion in the U.S. Smart Grid stimulus funds were awarded to 31 AMI projects in 2009.
The report, sponsored by Tantalus Systems, indicates that this focus on smart meters creates opportunities for AMI communication systems, meter data management systems (MDMS), customer data management, and AMI program management. Currently, companies such as GridPoint, eMeter, Tantalus, Itron, Google, Silver Spring Networks, Cisco, and IBM are all trying to capture market share in these emerging markets, according to the report.
But there are still some major service and technology gaps that need to be filled to advance the AMI market, says Zpryme.
The report provides a six-phase framework for smart grid AMI market opportunities that include evaluating existing market opportunities, evaluating internal company strengths, beginning R&D and product/service testing, securing smart grid ecosystem business partners, starting strategy & product/service launch planning, and executing marketing & sales strategy.
Report researchers say product testing and identifying partners at the early stages of the game will mitigate the risks and liabilities by both major players and start-ups.
A company should also consider the financial resources they have access to (e.g. government subsidies), existing customer base, relationships with utilities and key smart-grid integrators, as well as identify areas to participate in smart-grid pilots and AMI programs in preparation for a product/service launch, according to the report.
The report also finds that inadequate evaluation of existing market opportunities and internal company strengths could lead to a poor and costly decision to move forward; when the most opportune decision could be to mitigate risk by not entering the market or delay entry into the market, says Zpryme.
Showing posts with label Cisco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cisco. Show all posts
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Cisco investing in smart grid start-up
March 25, 2010 9:58 AM PDT
by Candace Lombardi
(Credit: GridNet)
Cisco is continuing its interest in smart-grid infrastructure and management with an equity investment in GridNet, the smart grid start-up announced Thursday.
The sum of Cisco's investment in GridNet was not disclosed, but the start-up now has another feather in its cap in terms of big-name investors. In addition to the Cisco investment, GridNet's investors now also include GE Energy Financial Services and Intel Capital, as well as several other venture capital firms.
GridNet, which has offices in San Francisco and Sydney, has an array of smart-grid products including two software platforms. One is a smart meter integration system for residential home use. The other is a real-time platform for utilities and suppliers that offers automated integration and distribution of power supplies, as well as tools for electricity demand management. The infrastructure is built to meet "regulatory and governmental Smart Grid interoperability and cybersecurity standards," according to GridNet.
That's an interesting assertion to make considering smart-grid technical standards, though urgently needed, are still in the infancy stage of being set. But with Cisco now as an investor, it might be a good bet that GridNet will, in fact, become a standard trendsetter.
Cisco announced in its first quarter 2010 earnings report that it had formed a "Smart Grid Technology advisory board," as well as established an industry organization called Smart Grid Ecosystem to lobby for the adoption of an IP standard for smart-grid communications. The organization includes other major players like Oracle and Siemens among its members.
In October 2009, Cisco partnered with German electricity company Yello Strom to launch a smart-grid pilot project in 70 German homes and businesses. The system can autonomously respond to changes in power supply and demand on the utility side, as well as integrate with homeowner tools for monitoring and regulating use.
At the time, Christian Feisst, industry lead utilities for the Cisco Internet Solutions Business Group, said in a statement that smart grids were an obvious next step for Cisco given its core strengths.
"The control of electric current is very similar to the management of information flow, so smart grids operate on principles similar to those behind the Internet. The exception is that electricity systems have a much greater number of nodes. This is where we are able to apply our expertise, integrating and processing crucial information that helps enable electricity consumption to be optimized," he said.
by Candace Lombardi
(Credit: GridNet)
Cisco is continuing its interest in smart-grid infrastructure and management with an equity investment in GridNet, the smart grid start-up announced Thursday.
The sum of Cisco's investment in GridNet was not disclosed, but the start-up now has another feather in its cap in terms of big-name investors. In addition to the Cisco investment, GridNet's investors now also include GE Energy Financial Services and Intel Capital, as well as several other venture capital firms.
GridNet, which has offices in San Francisco and Sydney, has an array of smart-grid products including two software platforms. One is a smart meter integration system for residential home use. The other is a real-time platform for utilities and suppliers that offers automated integration and distribution of power supplies, as well as tools for electricity demand management. The infrastructure is built to meet "regulatory and governmental Smart Grid interoperability and cybersecurity standards," according to GridNet.
That's an interesting assertion to make considering smart-grid technical standards, though urgently needed, are still in the infancy stage of being set. But with Cisco now as an investor, it might be a good bet that GridNet will, in fact, become a standard trendsetter.
Cisco announced in its first quarter 2010 earnings report that it had formed a "Smart Grid Technology advisory board," as well as established an industry organization called Smart Grid Ecosystem to lobby for the adoption of an IP standard for smart-grid communications. The organization includes other major players like Oracle and Siemens among its members.
In October 2009, Cisco partnered with German electricity company Yello Strom to launch a smart-grid pilot project in 70 German homes and businesses. The system can autonomously respond to changes in power supply and demand on the utility side, as well as integrate with homeowner tools for monitoring and regulating use.
At the time, Christian Feisst, industry lead utilities for the Cisco Internet Solutions Business Group, said in a statement that smart grids were an obvious next step for Cisco given its core strengths.
"The control of electric current is very similar to the management of information flow, so smart grids operate on principles similar to those behind the Internet. The exception is that electricity systems have a much greater number of nodes. This is where we are able to apply our expertise, integrating and processing crucial information that helps enable electricity consumption to be optimized," he said.
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