| | February 20176CIOReviewCopyright © 2017 ValleyMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher thereof.CIOReviewFEBRUARY 09 - 2017Mailing AddressCIOReview44790 S. Grimmer Blvd Suite 202, Fremont, CA 94538T:510.402.1463, F:510-894-8405 FEBRUARY 09 - 2017, Vol 06 SE 02 - Published by ValleyMedia, Inc. To subscribe to CIOReviewVisit www.cioreview.com UTILITIES TECHNOLOGY SPECIALCIOReviewEditorial StaffSalesAaron Pierce Chithra VijayakumarSarah Fernandes Ava GarciaJoshua ParkerVian IsaacAlena D'souzaalena@cioreview.comT: 510.556.2284VisualizersDave BrownManaging EditorJeevan GeorgeEditorialK. Manoj KumarUncertainty seems to be looming over the utility industry, but it is not as drastic as originally expected. Though the Trump era will undoubtedly bring new changes to the sector, utilities is already in the midst of an ongoing transformation. Rising costs have become the norm, driven by mounting expectations from regulators and customers. However, new regulatory structures, technologies, and business models are expected to provide the tools necessary to help manage costs.The industry is witnessing traditional energy suppliers slowly adopt a start-up mindset and move into "the world of renewables." All along, traditional energy firms have been modernizing their operations by establishing dedicated innovation units, but this has proven ineffective amid today's increasing competition. This calls for energy companies to be agile and leverage quick-to-deploy platforms. Energy suppliers are getting back to the whiteboard and reinventing key processes such as finance, resource planning, field service support, and asset and supply chain management. Everything needs to be capable of "up and running" in a matter of weeks and be flexible enough to accommodate changes on the go.Another exciting development is the increasing usage of drones in the energy sector--an extra pair of eyes to assess pipelines, powerlines, and other assets. 2017 will see the integration of data from drones with enterprise software platforms, facilitating automatic generation of work orders. This will radically bring down the disruptions to the grid by sending work orders straight to engineers in the field for immediate response. As drones become more advanced and adaptable, they could one day carry out repairs and manual tasks. Such autonomous drone capabilities don't seem too farfetched given the rapid rate of innovation.While the new age technologies are taking utilities to the next level, there is no denying that numerous challenges lay ahead. But with the right technology partner, navigating the ever-changing utilities landscape can be made effortless. At this juncture, CIOReview brings to you a special edition on utilities technology solution providers that are on top of their game.We hope the valuable insights from industry thought-leaders and the innovative solutions from leading companies featured in this edition will help you in your endeavors today and in the days to come.Jeevan George Managing Editoreditor@cioreview.comOpportunity amid Transformation
< Page 5 | Page 7 >