|
|
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
<< Return to Page One Product roadmap
As befits its Midwest origins, Aclara takes a slow and steady approach to winning the race, focusing on a series of incremental enhancements. Here are some of the product enhancements you should watch for in the next while:
· An upgrade to its powerline technology that will increase headroom and make it closer to the European flavor
· Enhancements to the consumer engagement software
· Additional "modules" for its unified operations center for demand side management
· Distribution automation solutions
· Additional applications in all three verticals (electric, water, gas), often with partners
· A mobile solution for consumer engagement that takes a fresh approach
· Additional data analytics and data management offerings. "Utilities are thinking about things differently," now that the stimulus money has dried up, according to Kitterman. "They are pulling back and asking themselves what is the end value and what is the ROI? " The new focus, he says, is "what do we do with all that data?"
Further out, look for more cloud-based solutions, which are often a great fit for cash-and personnel-strapped co-ops. Aclara already delivers its demand-side solutions that way in conjunction with partner Calico Energy Services.
Aclara strengths
Aclara has at least four key differentiators:
Focus on small power. Aclara has largely stayed away from the IOU bidding frenzies of the past where, as Carter Shoop puts it "if you lose you lose and if you win you lose." In their eagerness to get business, Shoop says, some venture-backed companies bid so low they lost money on every project. In retrospect, Aclara's focus on munis and co-ops has been a smart move.
Partnering skills. Aclara has been clever about finding partnerships to fill holes and to create total solutions for customers.
Aclara's consumer engagement software doesn't get as much attention as that from companies such as Tendril and Opower. It is clearly one of the company's underappreciated strengths. When it comes to paper reports, Aclara's offering has long been one of the best. When it comes to web portals, it has recently won bake-offs at SDG&E, SMUD and Fort Collins.
Aclara challenges
Despite its strength, Aclara faces headwinds:
Slowing sector. The smart meter market in North America has been drooping for some time now that the stimulus funds have largely been spent. Shoop and others say it may take another two years for that market to find its "steady-state." The slowdown in big deals is creating some desperate competitors. Although Aclara hasn't been hit as hard as many others, it will nonetheless feel repercussions.
Powerline skepticism. In North America and certain other regions, powerline carrier is derided as a "toy" solution that is barely sufficient for basic AMI much less for layering additional applications such as distribution automation. Companies such as Cisco and Silver Spring Networks are promoting "multi-service" networks that claim to have more bandwidth and more speed.
Switching to a software mindset. Aclara was a hardware company at heart in its early days. As more and more value migrates to software, Aclara (like many of its competitors) has had to scramble to reinvent itself as a software company that happens to sell enabling hardware. That reinvention requires a shift in mindset that permeates everything from accounting to hiring to management to marketing, and Aclara is still in the throes.
Margin erosion. If you heard about Echelon's recent progress in China with its partner Holley then you know that Chinese and other low-cost manufacturers have their eyes on the global smart meter market. Expect hardware margins to erode, putting pressure on Aclara and every other manufacturer.
Increasing competition in the "small power" segment. Frustrated by the IOU showdown, more and more companies are turning their sights onto municipals and co-ops. And not just smaller players. Companies such as SAIC and General Electric have robust offerings tailored to smaller utilities.
Aclara opportunities
I see at least four major opportunity areas:
Increase its share of wallet. Aclara's biggest opportunity, in my view, is to go to its ultra-loyal customer base with add-on products and services.
Water. The market for smart water networks will accelerate eventually. When it does, Aclara is positioned to benefit. And not just with single-service, water-only utilities. Aclara also has one of the best solutions for a multi-service utility. Not only does it sell all three kinds of meters (water, gas, electric), its demand-side platform can handle all three with the same interface. And give customers a single portal as well.
Hybrid communications. If and when cellular takes off as a preferred option for IOUs, Aclara would be well-positioned to supply hybrid networks that use a mixture of powerline, cellular and RF in service territories that need to grapple with both urban and rural constituencies.
Overseas growth. Just as Aclara has picked its spots in North America, it has been similarly judicious about overseas expansion. It seems to be approaching Europe with caution, preferring instead to push strongly into Asia. "Our next beachheads are China and Japan," Kitterman told me. "Our powerline technology is a good fit for those markets." He told me the company has pilots underway now, but doesn't expect the Asian markets to accelerate until 2014.
I'll be curious to read your comments (use the form at below) to learn what you see as Aclara's strengths and challenges as the smart grid slugfest evolves. 1 Jesse Berst is the founder and chief analyst of Smart Grid News.com, the industry's oldest and largest smart grid site. A frequent keynoter at industry events in the U.S. and abroad, he also serves on advisory committees for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Institute for Electric Efficiency. He often provides strategic consulting to large corporations and venture-backed startups. He is a member of the advisory boards of GridGlo and Calico Energy Services.
<< Return to Page One
Got something to say about this article? Be the first to leave a comment!
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Talk Back
