27 Jan 2010
New IDC Energy Insights Study Shows MDM Critical Technology for Energy Companies Implementing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
FRAMINGHAM, MA, January 27, 2010 – The market for meter data management (MDM) is growing at a fast pace with the introduction of smart metering, a new study published by IDC Energy Insights reveals. IDC Energy Insights forecasts the North American market to grow at a CAGR of 29.4% from $239.9 million in 2008 to $869.1 million in 2013.
According to IDC Energy Insights’ new study, Vendor Assessment: Industry Short List for Meter Data Management – Getting to Scale(Document # EI221319), smart metering is delivering exponentially greater volumes of data that can be used to support a whole range of offerings to customers. At the same time, this wealth of data can be mined for operational and business intelligence. MDM is a must-have technology for energy companies implementing advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).
IDC Energy Insights' research shows that currently, large utilities make up over 80% of the market for MDM in North America. The average deal size for a small utility is from $150,000 to $250,000, while larger utilities can have MDM contracts of $2 million to $4 million.
"The new energy economy is driving utilities to adopt new ways of serving their customers," said Jill Feblowitz, practice director of IDC Energy Insights. "The introduction of new technology, such as AMI/smart metering, is also changing the way companies interact with their customers."
This report uses IDC Energy Insights' Short List methodology to evaluate the vendors supplying MDM applications to the utility market. This analysis is intended to help energy executives arrive at a short list of IT suppliers that best address the needs of the business. Vendors evaluated for this study include Aclara, Ecologic Analytics, eMeter, Hansen Technologies, Itron, and Oracle.
"Companies are just beginning to test the scale of large implementations, as smart metering goes system-wide," continued Feblowitz. "Our research shows that scalability is the most important criteria for assessing the MDM. Utilities want to be confident that when they scale up from pilot to system-wide implementation of smart metering, the MDM will be able to handle increased volumes of meter data and process it quickly."
Among the key findings of this study are the following:
- Vendor offerings of MDM have proven capable of uploading and cleaning large volumes of data from system-wide implementation of AMI. The jury is still out on how well the MDM can perform in supporting large-scale billing of time-based or other exotic rates.
- There are almost as many possible variations of data delivery as there are meter configurations and customer information systems (CISs). The amount of work performed by MDM and capacity required will depend on the rest of the smart metering technology stack – configurable meters, network bandwidth, and CIS capabilities. Utilities should select the MDM within the context of the stack.
The introduction of AMI provides a means to collect an unprecedented amount of data. IDC Energy Insights' research shows that smart meters can now collect and deliver interval data for the mass-market customer. Most systems are capable of capturing and transporting very small intervals – some systems report capabilities of collecting one-minute interval data. This data can be used to support applications such as traditional billing, time-of-use (TOU) billing, market transactions for deregulation markets, presentation of data to the customer for energy education, and outage detection and restoration analysis.
For additional information about this study, or to arrange a one-on-one briefing with an IDC Energy Insights analyst, please contact Sarah Murray at 781-794-3214 or sarahbethmurray@gmail.com. Reports are available to qualified members of the media; reporters should email sarahbethmurray@gmail.com. For information on purchasing reports, email info@idc-ei.com.
About IDC Energy Insights
IDC Energy Insights provides research-based advisory and consulting services focused on market and technology developments in the energy and utility industries. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, IDC Energy Insights covers both the utility and oil & gas segments, providing independent, timely, and relevant analysis focused on key business and technology issues. IDC Energy Insights serves a diverse and growing global client base, including electric, gas and water utilities, IT suppliers, independent power producers, retail energy providers, oil and gas companies, equipment manufacturers, government agencies, financial institutions, and professional services firms. IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology, media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc-ei.com or email info@idc-ei.com.
For more information, contact:
Sandra Collins
scollins@idc.com
508-988-6746
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