Cisco Systems has been talking a big game about its involvement in the Smart Grid for a year. And it's been successful at building its reputation in the space without ever releasing anything concrete. Today, it's finally made good on the hype, unveiling the first of what its calling its "Connected Grid Solutions."
It has launched the Cisco Connected Grid Router (CGR 2010) and Cisco Connected Grid Switch 2520 (CGR 2520), both variations on existing products, designed to facilitate Smart Grid communications, including the wireless transmission of energy consumption data between smart meters, utilities and consumer devices. The major emphasis behind these new offerings: security.
Both the router and the switch are meant tobe integrated into existing electrical substations so that IP communications (Cisco's bread and butter) can be used to closely monitor grid operations, including power loads, renewable energy generation, demand response programs, and outages. These operations alone could save utilities millions of dollars a year in maintenance costs, and deliver extremely accurate information to their customers interested in changing their energy consumption and spending behavior.
Cisco is making it very clear that these two products are the first of many to come tailored to Smart Grid applications. Some in the portfolio will be aimed at utilities and power plants, while others will be targeted at commercial and residential consumers (think electric car charging tools), the company says.
On the utility side, the new router and switch go beyond detecting outages or damage in electrical equipment -- they also allow energy vendors to diagnose what is going wrong, and even, in some cases, remotely repair faults in the grid. This is a huge improvement for these companies. In fact, the Smart Grid offerings take a proactive approach to substation maintenance, alerting utilities to incremental changes that could be made to keep equipment working better for longer.
The switch and router -- built to withstand harsh conditions like extreme cold and heat -- are both based on Cisco's IOS Software, the operating system that transmits communications while also providing advanced security measures.
Cybersecurity is one of the biggest concerns shaping Smart Grid development. Experiments in the past have shown how easy it would be for hackers to disrupt grid traffic and even energy flow brokered by new wireless Smart Grid communication systems. Now, every effort is being made to eliminate these vulnerabilities.
This is the are where Cisco really shines. Its expertise is providing safe, unbreachable communications platforms, and it will be leveraging its existing technology to do the same for the grid, including its Cisco Intrusion Prevention System, Cisco Network Access Control, virtual private networks, firewalls, user identity tools, and more.
Given all this, it makes a tremendous amount of sense of the networking giant to get involved in the movement toward a cleaner, more efficient grid. And even though it's only just gotten involved, it's already poised to dominate the market.
Even before Cisco showed its Smart Grid hand, there had been a lot of talk and speculation about it acquiring other companies in the space to expedite its tech development. Everyone's guess: Silver Spring Networks, the venture-backed grid communications company that has landed big deals with Pacific Gas & Electric and others.
Earlier this year, Silver Spring recruited underwriters for a potential IPO -- which quieted the Cisco acquisition rumors considerably. But now it looks like public opposition to smart metering rollouts in California and elsewhere has caused the company to put its public sale ambitions on hold. Silver Spring is wrapped up in the class-action lawsuit filed by Bakersfield, Calif. residents against PG&E alleging rate hikes following smart meter deployment.
If Silver Spring has indeed scaled back these plans, it might once again be an attractive buy for Cisco, solidifying its lead over corporate competitors in the Smart Grid arena -- like IBM.