Greentech Lead U.S: The benefits of smart grid
infrastructure investments will only be realized if there is a similar
transformation in customer engagement, according to a recent report from Pike
Research.
The deployment of smart meters is the key driving force
in this revolution enabling new consumer services and providing new insight
into customer behavior.
Considering these factors, the electric utility billing
and customer information systems (CIS) software and services market will nearly
double in the next 5 years, growing from $2.3 billion in 2011 to $4.0 billion
by 2017.
Many legacy billing and CIS are technically unsuited for
the emerging smart grid requirements. Another significant factor driving
billing and CIS change will be customer and business process analytics. This
technology will play an important role in guiding utilities in product
development and market execution for the targeted offerings and bundles that
will enable competitive differentiation, according to the report.
“Large U.S. investor-owned utilities looking to develop
new revenue streams, European energy retailers working in a deregulated market,
and utilities in the developing world seeking to improve revenue collection and
energy auditing are all taking a new look at their requirements for billing and
CIS,” says research director Eric Woods. “This shift requires utilities to
master the product development, marketing, and customer relationship skills to
ensure competitive success. In turn, the billing and CIS systems underpinning
these business processes will have to step up to the challenge.”