OREANDA-NEWS. Space-Time Insight, Inc., SMUD and NEC Corporation (NEC) today announced they have entered into an agreement to collaborate on technology and business model innovation to meet emerging energy industry needs. Areas of collaboration include an integrated platform for distribution grid management, energy efficiency, distributed generation and energy storage.

As the global energy landscape evolves to incorporate new technologies, more renewable resources and a greater focus on customer experience and data analytics, utilities are working hard to adapt their operations and business models to continue to deliver value to their communities, customers and shareholders.

Space-Time Insight, SMUD and NEC are combining their areas of expertise to create innovative solutions to meet the challenges of this new landscape. Those areas of expertise include:

  • SMUD: Energy delivery and customer experience
  • NEC: Advanced technology manufacturing and integration
  • Space-Time Insight: Advanced analytics and visualization

"We're excited to help develop new technology that will make utilities more responsive, more efficient, and ultimately able to deliver more value to their customers," said Arlen Orchard, CEO and General Manager, SMUD.

"The development of new business models for utilities requires collaboration," says Takemitsu Kunio, Senior Vice President, NEC. "Collaborating with industry leaders such as SMUD and Space-Time Insight enables us to meet and exceed the needs of utilities, their end users and regulators."

"Analytics are at the heart of solutions in the IoT economy," said Rob Massoudi, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Space-Time Insight. "Our analytics informed by SMUD's experience and embedded in NEC solutions will drive innovation for the global utility sector."

The three companies have already begun collaborating, with results expected in the United States, Japan and the Asia Pacific region in 2016.

About Space-Time Insight
Space-Time Insight liberates companies in asset-intensive industries from a fragmented view of the big picture, providing the context and clarity they need to make fast, confident decisions.  Using spatial, temporal and nodal analysis, our IoT-ready real-time visual analytics applications illuminate the what, where, when, why and how of every asset and situation.  Space-Time Insight's award-winning situational intelligence software powers mission-critical systems for some of the largest companies around the world, including eight of the twenty largest US utilities. We partner with leaders in the industry including Accenture, Esri, IBM, NEC, OSIsoft, SAP, Siemens and Unicorn Systems. Space-Time Insight is privately held and based in San Mateo, CA.

About SMUD
As the nation's sixth-largest, community-owned electric service provider, SMUD has been providing low-cost, reliable electricity for more than 65 years to Sacramento County (and small adjoining portions of Placer and Yolo Counties). SMUD is a recognized industry leader and award winner for its innovative energy efficiency programs, renewable power technologies, and for its sustainable solutions for a healthier environment. SMUD is the first large California utility to receive more than 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources. 

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society.  

Based on its Mid-term Management Plan 2015, the NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow.