SALEM, Mass. — Groom Energy Solutions has announced the newest release in its Enterprise Smart Grid research series, “2013 Enterprise Smart Grid and a Corporate Buyer’s Guide for Energy Management Software.” The new report is based on 68 interviews with corporate energy, facility, and sustainability managers, vendors, and an online survey of 158 companies.

According to Groom Energy, Enterprise Smart Grid (ESG) is the integration of energy metering, hardware, and software by organizations seeking visibility, control, and management of their energy consumption. Groom Energy’s research indicates ESG is a $6.2 billion U.S. market in 2013, growing at 15 percent per year over the next four years.

With a number of new technologies and solutions, the landscape has been changing and evolving quickly. “Applying the principles of the Enterprise Smart Grid, large organizations can effectively drive energy efficiency performance across their operations,” said Paul Baier, report author and vice president of research for Groom Energy Solutions. “Our report helps corporate energy managers categorize the overwhelming number of vendor offerings, each with its own capabilities, benefits, and limitations.”

Findings from the interviews and research include:

• Energy savings remains the primary driver for corporate ESG investment in projects, people, and process.

• Eighteen percent of large companies surveyed plan to invest in energy management software in 2013.

• Vendor awareness by corporate leaders remains low with no single vendor recognized by more than 31 percent of survey respondents.

• When evaluating a particular vendor solution, managers should focus on the functional needs within their industry type and a vendor’s installed base. Solutions differ significantly by industry vertical.

• Many venture-backed, software-centric startups have struggled. Growing ESG vendors have a combination of energy efficiency industry expertise, software and broad services including consulting, call center support, and outsourced energy analytics.

• Enterprise Energy Management Software is a growing category and includes management of bill and interval data, energy projects, and carbon emissions.

• Software that actually controls equipment has the highest ROI.

• Traditional vendor boundaries continue to merge. One example is demand response vendors offering energy management software.

Ten 2013 Enterprise Smart Grid Leaders

The new report names ten 2013 Enterprise Smart Grid Leaders on the strength of product, financial strength, financial payback of solution, number of customers, sales momentum in the last 18 months, and vision. The 2013 Enterprise Smart Grid Leaders are (listed alphabetically):

• BuildingIQ

• Ecova

• EFT Energy

• Energycap

• Enernoc

• eSight Energy

• Gridpoint

• Phoenix Energy Technologies

• Schneider

• Siemens

For more information, visit www.groomenergy.com.

Publication date: 7/29/2013