Unlock the power of real-time data for intelligent energy operations

IBM is working to transform the energy industry through its vision for clean energy, which focuses on efficiency, sustainability, and resilience—leveraging advanced technologies such as smart grids, energy management systems, and data analytics. IBM aims to help utilities and energy companies optimize energy transmission, distribution, reduce waste, and improve the efficiency of renewable energy sources. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing solutions, IBM is helping the industry to support secure, transparent, and efficient energy trading, and is also partnering with various organizations to drive innovation and adoption of clean energy technologies.

Microsoft is a key partner in IBM’s support for the energy industry, providing a scalable and secure cloud platform—Microsoft Azure—that enables energy companies to store, process, and analyse vast amounts of data. With Azure, IBM has been able to create innovative solutions which use advanced analytics, predictive maintenance, and real-time monitoring solutions to predict equipment failures, optimize energy consumption, enhance operational efficiency, support clean energy initiatives and facilitate the transition to renewable energy sources.

The energy industry is undergoing a significant transformation driven by the urgent need to balance increasing global power demand with sustainability goals. Together IBM and Microsoft are uniquely placed to help energy companies unify disparate data sources, enhance cybersecurity, create scalable digital infrastructures and develop innovative solutions designed to reduce carbon emissions, enhance energy security, and create a resilient and sustainable energy system for the future.

Energy companies have often been at the forefront of innovation, developing a myriad of services and systems to meet the dynamic demands of energy production, distribution, and storage. However, a significant challenge persists—obtaining a comprehensive, integrated view of operations and their underlying data—given that these systems are generally developed with different sets of requirements, interfaces and data storage requirements.

Integration of renewable sources like solar and wind (clean energy) into existing grids adds additional complexity, requiring not just investment and physical infrastructure upgrades and advanced storage facilities to help manage variability in supply and demand. It forces energy companies to integrate their operational technology (OT), internet of things (IoT) and information technologies (IT) systems and operate as close to real-time as possible, leverage advanced predictive and prescriptive analytics for forecasting trends, optimizing performance, and making informed decisions about energy storage and supply and introduce robust cybersecurity and operational measures to protect against threats, ensure the integrity of data and operations and deliver compliance with an ever-evolving set of standards and regulatory frameworks.

IBM Consulting® and Microsoft working in partnership with energy companies across the world have developed a platform—powered by Microsoft Azure—which can help energy companies to securely process streaming OT and IoT data from field assets in near real-time and combine it with data from the IT estate, creating insights that support the integration of clean energy infrastructures.

The solution works alongside an energy company's existing OT and IT, comprising of a services which support efficient collection, aggregation, validation, inter-/extrapolation and interpretation of operational data and a set of interfaces which provide foundation for a wide range of clean energy applications—including digital twins for (renewables) power generation and medium voltage and low voltage (MV/LV) networks—that can be used to augment the network control room and improve network and asset planning.

Here are some key features:

• Real-time data processing: The platform captures and processes streaming data from various field assets and devices, combining it with IT data to enhance operational and situational awareness.
• Scalability and flexibility: It is a scalable platform constructed on open-source technology and standard-driven integration protocols such as ICCP, DNP3, MQTT, JSON, and XML.
• Interoperability: The platform supports various database technologies and is designed to be compatible with multiple persistence technologies and adapters, ensuring seamless integration with existing environments.
• Advanced analytics and AI/ML: It provides a foundation for advanced analytics and AI machine learning (AI/ML), enabling capabilities such as asset health scoring, grid congestion forecasting, and predictive insights.
• Enhanced decision-making: By integrating data across OT, IoT, and IT systems, the IBM Energy Data Hub facilitates enterprise-wide intelligent workflows and automation, leading to improved operational control and informed decision-making.

With the IBM Energy Data Hub, energy companies can accelerate the development of new data-driven capabilities for a decentralized and instrumented net zero energy system, capture and process streaming data from instrumented field assets and devices in near real-time, combine data across OT, IoT, and IT estates with AI/ML services for enterprise-wide intelligent workflows and automation and create role-specific predictive insights supported by what-if simulations for more effective long, medium, and short-term planning.

Energy companies are now focusing on integrating renewable energy sources into their existing systems. This includes leveraging advanced technologies such as smart grids, energy management systems, and data analytics to optimize energy transmission and distribution, reduce waste, and improve the efficiency of renewable energy sources.

The IBM Energy Data Hub is a cloud-based platform designed to help energy companies make data-driven decisions. This centralized hub collects, processes, and analyzes energy data from various sources, including smart meters, IoT devices, and external data sources. The platform provides advanced analytics capabilities, including machine learning and predictive modeling, to gain insights into operations. Real-time analytics capabilities enable energy companies to respond quickly to changes in their operations.

It can help improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer experience, supporting sustainability goals, and enabling regulatory compliance. By providing real-time insights into energy usage based on Azure AI/ML, the platform helps energy companies optimize their operations and reduce costs. Energy companies can also use the platform to provide personalized energy recommendations to customers, improving their overall experience. The platform can also help energy companies meet regulatory requirements by providing a centralized hub for collecting and analyzing energy data.

The platform's advanced analytics capabilities and real-time data processing enable energy companies to stay ahead of the competition and make informed decisions. With the IBM Energy Data Hub, energy companies can unlock the full potential of their data and drive business success.

Learn more about the IBM Energy Data Hub and how it can help your energy company make data-driven decisions—and to discuss a demonstration and proof of concept.