September 24, 2010
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Cisco, Itron Partner to Boost Smart-Grid Development
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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 Itron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Itron. Show all posts
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Cisco, Itron team on smart-grid networking
September 1, 2010 11:59 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
Networking giant Cisco Systems announced Tuesday a deal with meter maker Itron to advance Internet Protocol-based communications for the power grid.
The two companies will create a reference design for using the IPv6 networking protocol to connect everything from people's homes to power distribution equipment on the grid. That reference design will form the basis for gear installed in smart meters, sensors, and computing systems inside utilities, Cisco executives said.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
As part of the deal, Itron will license and embed Cisco's IP technology in its meters and distribute Cisco hardware as part Itron's smart-grid deployments.
Right now, communications on the grid is done with many proprietary protocols, but Itron and Cisco executives said using IP, the transport protocol of the Internet, will speed up grid modernization.
"We feel the market will accelerate when standards are in the market. We see it as a way to stimulate and broaden the market, which ultimately benefits us all," said Philip Mezey, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Itron.
The companies will develop a system which uses IP for neighborhood area networks, also called field networks, to bring data from smart meters back to utilities, said Paul De Martini, the chief technology officer for smart grid at Cisco.
The reference design will also address a number of grid-related applications, such as demand response, automation of power distribution equipment, managing energy storage, and distributed generation like rooftop solar panels, he said.
Major move by Cisco
Cisco has said that it considers the smart grid a $100 billion dollar market but it has only released a few products so far, including a home energy management controller and routers and switches for substations.
Although the companies were vague on product details and timing, the partnership is a much more significant move into the smart grid by Cisco, said Bob Gohn, a smart-grid analyst at Pike Research
Partnering with a significant meter manufacturer committed to using IP for data transport opens the way for Cisco to provide a number of add-on products, such as security and network management, he said.
"If they can sprinkle some of their own bits of intelligence as a software widget into various end devices (on the grid), it gives Cisco a better chance of providing the overall solution," Gohn said. "The parallel with the enterprise computing space is pretty easy to draw."
Itron has historically used proprietary communications technology in its meters, but having IP advocate Cisco as a partner improves its credibility on standards-based communications, Gohn added.
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20015341-54.html?tag=mncol;posts#ixzz0yOf5aD57
by Martin LaMonica
Networking giant Cisco Systems announced Tuesday a deal with meter maker Itron to advance Internet Protocol-based communications for the power grid.
The two companies will create a reference design for using the IPv6 networking protocol to connect everything from people's homes to power distribution equipment on the grid. That reference design will form the basis for gear installed in smart meters, sensors, and computing systems inside utilities, Cisco executives said.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
As part of the deal, Itron will license and embed Cisco's IP technology in its meters and distribute Cisco hardware as part Itron's smart-grid deployments.
Right now, communications on the grid is done with many proprietary protocols, but Itron and Cisco executives said using IP, the transport protocol of the Internet, will speed up grid modernization.
"We feel the market will accelerate when standards are in the market. We see it as a way to stimulate and broaden the market, which ultimately benefits us all," said Philip Mezey, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Itron.
The companies will develop a system which uses IP for neighborhood area networks, also called field networks, to bring data from smart meters back to utilities, said Paul De Martini, the chief technology officer for smart grid at Cisco.
The reference design will also address a number of grid-related applications, such as demand response, automation of power distribution equipment, managing energy storage, and distributed generation like rooftop solar panels, he said.
Major move by Cisco
Cisco has said that it considers the smart grid a $100 billion dollar market but it has only released a few products so far, including a home energy management controller and routers and switches for substations.
Although the companies were vague on product details and timing, the partnership is a much more significant move into the smart grid by Cisco, said Bob Gohn, a smart-grid analyst at Pike Research
Partnering with a significant meter manufacturer committed to using IP for data transport opens the way for Cisco to provide a number of add-on products, such as security and network management, he said.
"If they can sprinkle some of their own bits of intelligence as a software widget into various end devices (on the grid), it gives Cisco a better chance of providing the overall solution," Gohn said. "The parallel with the enterprise computing space is pretty easy to draw."
Itron has historically used proprietary communications technology in its meters, but having IP advocate Cisco as a partner improves its credibility on standards-based communications, Gohn added.
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20015341-54.html?tag=mncol;posts#ixzz0yOf5aD57
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