Cisco Sees Billions Ahead in Smart Grid


Netstat -vat by Sean Michael Kerner (bio)

A command line view of IT


Green energy

From the “It’s time to get smart about power” files:

The Smart Grid, the idea of transforming the century old electrical grid in the United States into a more efficient and optimized platform for electricity management and delivery is big business. It’s a business in which networking giant Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) is very interested in playing a key role.

I spoke with Inbar Lasser-Raab, senior director of network solutions at Cisco about Cisco’s smart grid strategy which Cisco is today officially announcing, and it’s an interesting and (perhaps) lucrative play. The market is one that could be worth as much as $20 Billion a year within five years according to Lasser-Raab.

In a nutshell, the Cisco strategy is about helping to build an IP infrastructure that connects the communication of the grid from end to end. That means smart meters in the home, routing equipment for transport and software to help manage and monitor the grid itself.

In some ways, Cisco’s smart grid strategy is a logical expansion of its EnergyWise effort that seeks to provide better power management for networks.

From a hardware perspective, Cisco has lots of networking gear in its portfolio (I’ve spoken in the past with Lasser-Raab on ISR routers), and Lasser-Raab noted that the Cisco Smart Grid strategy will involve using existing routing equipment as well as repackaging gear into new form factors. She told me that the full product strategy is forthcoming.


[Continue reading this blog post at Netstat -vat by Sean Michael Kerner]

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