With a technological transformation underway in the utility industry, cloud computing is playing a bigger role in the sector.
Gartner, Inc., listed cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) among the top technology trends for the energy and utilities sector in 2013.
With continued focus on grid modernization efforts in recent years, the industry has been deploying high-speed networks enabling wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. Utility companies today manage a web of sensors, meters and advanced networks constantly gathering information. This data can provide new insights and analytics into consumption and workload management to help utilities better understand and meet evolving consumer needs.
"Big data is quickly becoming one of the industry’s most valuable assets -- and is driving the industry’s move to explore cloud-enabled solutions," said Ernie Lewis, managing principal for Verizon’s global Energy and Utilities practice. "While the utility industry has been slower than other sectors to deploy cloud services, with companies looking to reduce cost and drive other value-added efficiencies, the cloud is becoming a more attractive option."
Rather than have utilities invest in expensive server capacity to manage volumes of data, the introduction of cloud computing – with its flexible delivery options and control – can become an enabling platform to help tie all of the components together so utilities can use data to gain insights and make decisions quickly.
As customer and proprietary data increases, security will become even more critical. Protecting the data – while managing access, identity, governance, risk and compliance – is becoming increasingly important to owners and operators.
"The more the utility industry embraces these advanced technologies, the more the sector will be able to improve efficiencies and lower costs while serving consumers and businesses better," Lewis said.
More information on Verizon Terremark cloud services can be found here.
