BPL Global: Can Global Ambitions Hurt a Small Company?

I’ve talked several times to the BPL Global team. Smart folks; interesting culture. But I fear many potential customers don’t have a clue what this reinvented company offers. And I worry that the company may be tackling too many things at one time.

 

BPL Global started out as a provider of broadband over powerline (BPL) back when that was the fad of the month. As it became apparent that BPL was DOA — or perhaps Crippled on Arrival is a better description — the company refocused on a Smart Grid software platform and a collection of applications to sit on top — mostly applications for utilities, a few for utility customers. Along the way, the company made opportunistic acquisitions that it is now trying to tie together into a coherent and synergistic story.

 

Most people don’t realize that BPL has amassed a small suite of products and applications:

• Transformer monitoring (from its Serveron acquisition)
• Substation automation (formerly Tasnet and currently at use by LADWP at 120 substations)
• High-throughput data concentrator (that puts IEDs and SCADA through a single pipe)
• Rapid fault locators with GIS mapping
• Management of distributed energy resources, including DG and storage and peak load management

Quite a list. Nor has the firm limited itself to electric power. The company recently deployed its distributed resources solution for a California irrigation district, improving water delivery efficiency and water accounting as well as minimizing the electricity required for water services. According to Sandia National Laboratories, electricity required for treatment and delivery of water accounts for as much as 80% of its cost. So as BPL Global rightly points out, with increasing demand for water and electricity, there is a global challenge to sustain reliable, affordable, and predictable supplies of water and electricity.

 

Many of BPL Global’s potential customers aren’t aware of its wide range of applications. (Use the link below to jump over to Smart Grid Central’s company profile if you want to know more.) Most folks in the U.S. still think that BPL Global provides... well, BPL. When I talked to marketing director Steve Jennings, he told me they have been talking about rebranding the company to erase the BPL stigma. For whatever reason, they can’t seem to pull the trigger.

 

Beyond the branding confusion, such a wide product range is a challenge for any company to manage. Even more problematic is its wide geographical range. BPL Global has customers in North America, China, Africa, Brazil and the Middle East. When working overseas, it brings on local partners, giving away some profits for lower risk and instant access to foreign customers.

 

Those challenges are even more difficult with a small staff (approximately 130 employees) and no real central office. (I told you this was an interesting company; it operates virtually.)

 

Management tells me that China is its largest market by far and it expects even more growth there. In fact, it seems to be concentrating on growth throughout Asia by focusing development efforts on analytics and preventing energy theft. The latter is a huge issue in Asia. BPL is currently working on a deal to apply Smart Grid technology for energy savings at Chinese food plants.

 

BPL Global is a nimble company that has shown it can adapt to changes in the marketplace. I agree 100% with its vision of a software platform utilities can use to host multiple Smart Grid applications. But I’m concerned that it has so little mind share in North America. GridPoint, for instance, has fewer working applications, but far greater visibility.

 

It's not clear if this intriguing company has what it takes to truly become a global leader. For instance, I wonder if they have the insight and the ability to create open APIs and reach out to developers to create additional applications for its platform. Don’t be surprised if one of the giants with the geographical reach to handle BPL Global’s footprint sees its potential and swallows it up.

 

   Company profile of BPL Global

   BPL Global Taps Water Opportunity with South San Joaquin Irrigation District