Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Smart grids provide energy boost - Computer Sweden

There is tough position in the IT consulting market with pricing pressure and cautious customers, but there are exceptions. The energy industry is one such.

Class=”paragraphIntro”> – The smart electricity means that our expertise in business intelligence, virtualization and mobile can be capitalized, says Leendert Venema, CEO of Capgemini in Sweden.

There are several driving forces behind the energy industry hot right now. The overall is society’s requirement to reduce and rationalize consumption based on fossil fuels. In addition, the previous market liberalization has meant that there are many energy companies. In Sweden alone, 150.

class=”paragraphIntro”> Another driver is the shift towards smart meters, being rolled out in various parts of the world. It requires IT systems to manage the vast amounts of data.

class=”paragraphIntro”> Last year a big deal in Sweden when Eon Electricity Networks signed an agreement with Ericsson and Capgemini to handle data sets from all their electricity meters in Sweden.

class=”paragraphIntro”> Besides parts of Eon drifting Capgemini also Fortum’s electricity grid.

– According to EU directives , 80 per cent of all electricity meters to be smart. Today, everyone in Sweden changed electricity meters, but now the second-generation smart meters with more skills, such that they will provide information on breaks or when it is cheapest to use the washing machine, says Thomas Sandh, head of Capgemini’s activities in the energy market.

class=”paragraphIntro”> Huge market grows up around the meters. At Nordic level estimates Capgemini that it is worth 5-10 billion annually. Investments are low in cycles. Sweden has already rolled out the first generation meter, but here waiting for a rejuvenation of the systems. In Norway, Finland and Denmark are big deals to be made during the year. Several of the big energy companies to procure suppliers.

class=”paragraphIntro”> – This must be supported by more and more IT solutions. The data collection is growing tremendously. Previously, it only once a month, now takes it every hour or more frequently, says Thomas Sandh.


Ericsson competes

In Sweden, the IT consulting companies have competition from Ericsson, which has created a niche in the energy sector. The deal with Eon last year is an example of that Ericsson is a player of high rank in this new market. The company would not comment on the ongoing work with individual clients, but when the contract was concluded said Robert Puskaric, Ericsson’s Head of Region Northern Europe and Central Asia:

class=”paragraphIntro”> – Now that we are moving towards a world with more than 50 billion connections, we believe that much of the communication between the machines will be created by smart meters and energy networks.

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