Cisco’s vision of the smart grid
I’ve read wisps of ‘smart grid’ technology in documents describing upcoming enterprise software functionality (namely, PeopleSoft), but the macro market is clearly shaping up. Cisco – whose networking gear is heavily smattered across the internet infrastructure landscape – sees a $20B/year opportunity to give the aging, analog electrical grid a much-needed digital facelift.
Cisco’s move is a sign that the creaky electricity distribution system is poised for a digital upgrade. Other high-tech companies, including IBM, Intel, and several start-ups, are ramping up smart-grid efforts to capitalize on expected investments from utilities and federal governments. Cisco estimates that the communications portion of that build-out is worth $20 billion a year over the next five years.
The idea of the “smart grid” is to modernize the electricity industry by overlaying digital communications onto the grid. Smart meters in a person’s home, for example, can communicate energy usage to utilities in near real time. That allows the utility to more efficiently manage the electricity supply and potentially allow a consumer to take advantage of cheaper rates.
At the risk of stating the obvious: the IT side of this equation is massive. When analog industries go digital, an entire ecosystem of tools, peripherals, software, diagnostics and services are born. Imagine the IP address space and security provisions needed for an electrical grid running IP as its communication protocol. Imagine the risk mitigation and contingency plans that will need to be developed, taught and implemented in order for the advantages of a smart grid to ever see the light of day.
This is tremendously exciting stuff, and a very solid example of how energy science/green energy is the new IT + dotcom revolution. The jobs, industries and global leadership opportunities it can create will be massive.Check out utilitysavingexpert.com for more information on using green business energy.
(Via David B.)
