Smart Grid Management Software Market to Grow

Smart Grid Management Software Market to GrowThe electric power smart grid operations management software and services market will grow by greater than 65% over the next five years, advises ARC Advisory Group, developing their recent comments on the electric power SCADA market growth, particularly in India, China and the Middle East. This substantial growth, equivalent to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1%, will result from a wave of new technology and worldwide infrastructure spending driven by sovereign investment programs. Such programs will be heavily focused on technology to improve grid reliability, efficiency and information management capabilities. Smart grid operations management software is a critical element in the development of more efficient and reliable electric grids.The United States, China and India are the countries currently allocating the greatest amount of public capital to grid expansion and improvement initiatives. "The concurrent deployment of the $8 billion in U.S. smart grid investment, $180 billion in Chinese grid investment and $10 billion for the Indian R-APDRP program is serving as the catalyst for exceptional growth in this technology-driven market, " according to Clint Reiser, enterprise software analyst and the principal author of ARC's Smart Grid Operations Management Software & Services Worldwide Outlook. The growth is also being supported by expansion projects in emerging markets such as the Middle East and Latin America.Transmission and Substation AutomationIn the United States, software vendors anticipate growth to occur in transmission and substation automation technology, but see the greatest growth expected with spending on distribution technology to enhance network control, efficiency, reliability and power quality.  In particular, vendors have noted that utilities have shown interest in new distribution management system and outage management system applications. In China, ARC believes that smart grid operations management software and other intelligent grid elements will account for an increasing percentage of total spending as the current shift in focus toward grid modernization continues: a number of foreign technology and service providers have already established a presence in China in anticipation of the growth opportunities. In India, 87 communities have been designated as eligible for SCADA and distribution management systems under their restructured APDRP program.