Peer2Politics

"Big data" may be the most overused buzz-phrase in the smart grid industry today. But that doesn’t mean that managing, analyzing and deriving operational and customer value from the massive amounts of data being collected by utilities isn’t important and valuable -- or that utilities aren't spending on it. GTM Research has pegged the value of the global utility data analytics market at a cumulative $20 billion between 2013 and 2020, growing from an annual spend of $1.1 billion this year to nearly $4 billion by decade’s end.

Christina Marule owns a spaza shop — the equivalent of a corner store — in rural South Africa. Five years ago she was forced to keep her young son out of school while she traveled to the nearest market, a half day's trip away, to purchase products to sell in her store. Today, she manages inventory via text message from a mobile device. Her son is back in the classroom.