Evaluating and selecting the right technology platform is a critical and multi-faceted task for any company considering an entry in the new world of digital energy services.
In our experience, companies approach this task with a narrow focus on technology and functionality, and end up making choices that are, at best, suitable for initial trials and pilots. We hope that this white paper highlights some of the common pitfalls and how to avoid them.
System security and data protection
An early and comprehensive focus on system security and data protection is critical, as is the understanding that keeping any system secure and compliant requires ongoing attention and effort.
Logistics
Successful digital energy services will be used by hundreds of thousands or even millions of consumers, and will typically include hardware devices, so it is important to consider the challenges of logistics (fulfilment, provisioning, etc.) as well as customer support. Great efficiency in this domain can make a solution, poor efficiency will almost definitely break it through poor customer satisfaction and unsustainable costs.
Smart meters
Because energy meter data is at the core of any digital energy service, the extent and quality of meter ecosystem coverage is a key success factor. It is important to bear in mind that existing smart meters are regularly updated and that new models are introduced regularly, so it’s important to also consider whether the meter support provided by a technology platform is likely to be maintained into the future.
Consumer expectations
Consumer expectations with regards to quality of service are high, so consistently high availability of cloud service and app functionality is a must. In this area, the main pitfall to avoid is focusing only on the vendor’s availability metric in the Service Level Agreement and not considering “worst case scenarios” such as a DDoS attack and how the platform would deal with that.
Total cost of ownership
Finally, as with any mass market product or service, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) has to be one of the main considerations, given that it will be a major determining factor in the return on investment assessment. Understanding the “T” in TCO is the key to success in this area – the total cost of providing a digital energy service ranges from the cloud operations cost (data storage, data transfer, etc.) to the delivery of hardware devices and providing customer support.
About the authors
This white paper was written by Rik Temmink (Chief Data Services Officer) and Adrian van den Heever (Chief Technology Officer) of geo, the UK’s leading smart energy technology company. If you would like to explore the topics discussed in this white paper in more detail, please contact geo by phone on +44(0)1223 850 210 or by email at marketing@geotogether.com.
