From: FierceGovernmentIT
By Tim McElligott
Big data analytics has sparked a reinvention of the smart grid.
GTM Research forecasts cumulative global spending on smart-grid-related analytics to top $20.6 billion between the years 2012 and 2020. Globally, it predicts an annual spending of $3.8 billion in 2020.
The firm estimates that “for utilities deploying these technologies, the achieved return on this investment will exceed $121.8 billion globally over the same nine-year time period,” according to its latest report.
The report, “The Soft Grid 2013-2020: Big Data & Utility Analytics for Smart Grid,” was released last week by the research firm.
“With the introduction of big data and analytics to the utility industry, the potential of the smart grid has shifted dramatically from the original aim of adding a myriad of new applications, toward a complete reinvention of the utility business,” the group said. “We are now moving into a market where the spotlight will be on the data analytics software that will allow utilities to track, visualize and predict.”
These are the core elements of what GTM Research calls “The Soft Grid.” GTM said the Soft Grid will be supported by the big names in IT, as well as by some smaller and less well-known companies.
For more: – read the GTM Research summary
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