Navigant Research has released a report indicating the IoT and analytics market for utilities should grow to over five billion dollars by 2028.
Many of the tools used for utilities are outdated and in need of replacement. The IoT offers a ripe opportunity to fix problems, improve efficiency, and generate significant revenue.
Neil Strother, Principal Research Analyst with Navigant Research, says:
“Many of the tools are outdated, sit in silos, and were never designed for the complexities of today’s smart grid.
More advanced utility IoT analytics solutions have entered the market and can be applied to legacy systems and new data flows using edge computing, cloud computing, machine learning, and AI to unlock valuable insights and drive operational efficiencies.”
Navigant suggests utilities embrace new IoT solutions despite acknowledging they’re not yet fully mature, as they can help cut costs while demand is flat or declining.
Cybersecurity Risks
Back in March, Navigant released a separate report examining the increasing risk of cybersecurity attacks towards utilities due to IoT adoption.
Commenting on the earlier report, Strother said:
“The mushrooming number of IoT devices being deployed by utilities and other enterprises carries an obvious and growing security risk.
Smart managers need a comprehensive strategy to stay ahead of potentially devastating threats to IoT assets. No longer can managers rely on an old-school reactive approach; instead, they and their security teams must adopt the latest proactive and predictive tools and methodologies to keep devices and systems safe.”
Utilities are a vital part of a city’s functions and are subsequently at high risk of attack from both state and non-state sponsored hackers.
According to the report, the urgency to proactively prevent threats has escalated quickly in the past few years.
You can find the full IoT and analytics for utilities report here.
What are your thoughts on the report? Let us know in the comments.
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