Market Overview: Smart Grid IT Vendors

The smart grid market is ramping up quickly. This market will reach tens of billions of dollars in the next three years. The top three areas of investment are generation and distribution, customer applications, and grid optimization. All three of these segments require the deployment of and integration with a robust information communication technology (ICT) backbone. ICT is an integral component of smart grid deployments; its success depends on a robust IT and security architecture. In this market overview, Forrester evaluated 10 key capabilities and services across the three key smart grid ICT segments. We found that the smart grid market consists of features, functions, and technologies, all of which combine to make a promising market with plenty of vendors. Smart grid impacts a utility's IT organization in multiple ways; therefore, multiple roles in the IT organization must contribute to its rollout. Specifically, infrastructure and operations (I&O) professionals in the utility industry should focus on the key services that vendors provide and consequently strengthen their relationship with business and operations teams.