Oracle’s “Big Data, Bigger Opportunities” Report: Smart Grids Increase Utilities’ Data Collection 180x
Utilities See Opportunities to Leverage Big Data to Improve Business Operations
News FactsOracle announced the results of the “Big Data, Bigger Opportunities: Plans and Preparedness for the Data Deluge” research report, which surveyed 151 North American senior-level executives at utilities with smart meter programs in place to gauge:- Perceptions on the business impact of “big data”
- Preparedness to handle data growth
Plans to extract optimal business value from this data to better target, engage with and serve customers.Smart grid deployments are creating exponentially more data; the utilities surveyed for this study have increased their meter data collection frequency by an average of 180x* and have access to new types of information.
The “Big Data, Bigger Opportunities” report is the first in Oracle’s “Utility Transformations” series, which will examine how utilities use information generated from smart grid deployments to drive greater organizational efficiency, more reliable service and stronger customer relationships.
Key Survey Findings
- Utilities with smart meter programs in place say they are somewhat prepared to manage the data deluge, rating themselves a 6.7 on a scale of 1 to 10.
- However, 45 percent of responding utilities still struggle to report information to business managers as fast as they need it, and 50 percent report that they miss opportunities to deliver useful information to customers.
- Smart meters deliver an unprecedented stream of critical business information, such as outage (78 percent), voltage (73 percent), tampering (63 percent) and diagnostic (56 percent) data, which can help improve operations and customer satisfaction.
- Utilities see a need to improve their ability to translate information into actionable intelligence and leverage data for strategic decision-making. Sixty-four percent say it is one of their top three priorities.
- Meter Data Management (MDM) systems may provide help with 70 percent of those utilities with an MDM system in place saying they are prepared to successfully manage the data influx versus just 51percent of those without.
- In the next five years, utilities plan to leverage smart grid data to improve customer service through efforts such as delivering demand response programs, forecasting demands, complying with regulatory requirements and minimizing outages.
Supporting Quote
“Smart grid deployments are creating exponentially more data for utilities and giving them access to information they have never had before. Oracle’s ‘Big Data, Bigger Opportunities’ report indicates that a vast majority of utility executives are working to enhance their ability to glean real intelligence from smart grid data – to ultimately create new opportunities to improve service reliability and deliver useful information to customers. Utilities can benefit from establishing enterprise information strategies, and investing in the systems and people needed to make better business decisions,” said Rodger Smith, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities.