Energy companies are being challenged on multiple fronts. Core expectations require the delivery of safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy. Business models are being challenged by alternatives such as renewables and consumers demanding more sophisticated interactions through social and mobile. Energy companies need to: Disruptively innovate business processes through analytics driven operational excellence to increase agility and responsiveness, reduce operational costs and improve asset reliability Assume the role of energy integrator to optimally balance supply and demand points Deliver a 360-degree customer-of-one experience to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, reduce costs, and improve management of energy demand

Making predictions is a risky activity. Making predictions in the utility industry can be perilous. History is filled with missed or prematurely exuberant pronouncements of the future of utilities and energy. For example, in the late 20th century, many predicted that the world’s oil supply had reached peak production and would become scarce. Instead, shale gas and oil are in abundance. In the 1990s, people predicted that fuel cells and hydrogen would dominate the landscape by 2010, another illustration that predictions can fail to reach their promise. Learn more. Download now