Internet of Things continues to light up the smart grid in 2016
Today’s kickoff of DistribuTECH (Feb. 9-11) in Orlando, Florida proves New Hampshire isn’t the only place where issues of power are being hotly discussed. With the energy and utilities industry grappling with serious issues like aging infrastructure, cybersecurity threats, and regulatory and competitive pressures, first movers are turning to advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) to disrupt traditional business models and future proof for tomorrow.
Verizon’s Grid Wide solution rises to modernization challenge
Recently recognized by Frost & Sullivan with a North American Utility Grid Intelligence Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership Award, Verizon’s Grid Wide Utility Solution is an IoT platform service offering utility companies an easy, secure and reliable on-ramp to grid modernization. Grid Wide offers an integrated as-a-service solution for smart metering, demand response, meter data management and distribution monitoring and control.
According to Frost & Sullivan, “While managed services for utilities remain in the nascent stage, Verizon has been able to carve out a competitive edge with its high performing 4G LTE network combined with its enterprise class, cloud hosted data centers. This vast infrastructure has helped the company win the confidence of several prominent utilities. Verizon further has a group of industry experts dedicated to support growing customer demand.”
Frost & Sullivan added, “Verizon holds a strong mindshare in the energy industry. The company has increased its market initiatives with the help of technology partners as well as through its support services offered for machine-to-machine, smart metering, and power distribution network operations.”
Securing the smart grid must go beyond brand reputation to issues of public safety
As grid modernization projects are adopted, the importance of incorporating a fail proof cybersecurity program from the inception cannot be overstated. The energy and utilities sector handles vast amounts of proprietary customer data such as social security numbers, birth dates, bank account details and credit card numbers. This data, when combined with the critical mandate to protect national infrastructure from external threats, underscores the imperative for organizations to double down on security measures.
