OT/IT Integration
OT and IT
Go Hand in Hand
Utilities today face complex grid management tasks. The
new Siemens and Accenture joint venture OMNETRIC Group
is there to help, offering integrated solutions based on the
companies’ ­expertise in information technology (IT) and
­operations technology (OT).
Text: Roman Elsener Illustration: Karolis Strautniekas
T
he increase of renewable gener­
ation, the use of a multitude of
energy storage ­devices and the
rise of electric vehicles – the integra­
tion of these different components
­into their grids poses a complex chal­
lenge for utility companies. With sig­
nificant investments into the physical
infrastructure lined up and the ­infeed
of renewables rising, the business
models of utilities are under heavy
pressure. In order to stay on top of
their game, utilities need a compre­
hensive understanding of the inter­
connected energy landscape as well
as the software and IT that link it. The
benefits of a successful integration
are greater transparency, network
­reliability and stability, ­improved
36 Living Energy · No. 10 | May 2014
­ fficiency and lower operation costs.
e
OMNETRIC Group, a joint venture of
Siemens and Accenture, embodies
the required integrated expertise in
OT and IT, by combining Siemens’
proven engineering know-how with
Accenture’s leading IT expertise. The
new agile company will offer expert
services and solutions with the mis­
sion to reshape the energy industry
for the better. CEO Maikel van Verse­
veld from Accenture and COO Martin
Runge from Siemens talked to Living
Energy about how energy systems
will be stabilized thanks to integrat­
ed smart technology solutions – and
how the ever-growing amount of
available energy data can be used to
create value.
“It’s a coming together of two worlds –
two companies uniting their core
strengths in one new company,” says
Accenture’s Maikel van Verseveld, a
Dutchman who has worked in the util­
ity sector across Europe, Canada and
Asia for over 15 years. “OMNETRIC
stands for ‘omni electric’ and ‘omni
metric.’ It is about the whole energy
system and about creating value for
utilities companies, as well as for end
consumers,” explains Martin Runge,
a manager with a background in both
power engineering and business ad­
ministration who started out back in
the days of the European market liber­
alization, with the introduction of new
IT systems for generation, retail and
distribution.
u
Living Energy · No. 10 | May 2014 37
OT/IT Integration
”A Logical Choice”
“Accenture’s Smart Grid group
came across Siemens in many
countries as being the market
leader for both software and
­hardware in the grid automation
and grid control area.
For us, the choice of Siemens
was a logical one, also because
they didn’t have any connection
with an IT services player. They
were focused on software and
hardware.
With our services, we were very
complementary to what Siemens
presents to the markets. Of course,
we also considered other companies, but the reality is that Siemens
looked wiser and more open to
­cooperation.”
Maikel van Verseveld on why Accenture partnered with Siemens
38 Living Energy · No. 10 | May 2014
OT/IT Integration
Consumer Patterns in Times
of Unpredictable ­Renewables
“The way we consume energy is
changing dramatically,” Runge says.
“We are not just consuming, we are
also generating and feeding in –
the energy flow is bidirectional,” he
­e xplains. In order to better match
demand and supply in this changed
generation landscape, OMNETRIC
Group will help utilities on the one
hand to shift demand, as well as on
the other hand to analyze and better
predict the volatile and fluctuating
infeed. For this there are forecasting
systems to deal with the change and
fluctuation of distributed renewable
energy sources. But with a modelbased integration of OT and IT solu­
tions further benefits await down the
road: the smooth implementation of
smart meter projects, easier billing
as well as operational improvements
for instance in network control.
“I ran across an article in a main­
stream business magazine stating that
the days of the power grid are num­
bered, and that energy will be created
and consumed locally,” recalls Maikel
van Verseveld. “I believe the real story
behind this article is that consumers
are looking at energy companies
much more closely because of the ris­
ing energy prices. If the regulators,
the financing sector, and the end con­
sumer start to scrutinize grid compa­
nies about their business models, they
are going to have to get it right if they
want to advance and succeed,” says
van Verseveld. This, he knows, is done
best by looking at the entire energy
system with the help of integrated
IT and OT solutions.
“Utility companies have to take hold
in the digital world. This integration
is imminent and necessary,” van Ver­
seveld stresses. “The longer utilities
delay it, the less they will be able to
create value based on their invest­
ments. They have to make decisions
around investments in the grid, its
optimization and the control of the
power flow and the fluctuations,” he
says and goes on to explain that with
the vast quantities of data becoming
available from various systems and
sensors like smart meters, programs
”We Saw Their Capabilities and Their Dedication”
“For us, it was obvious that Accenture is the most global IT
­integration partner we could look for. We had already worked
with Accenture on several joint projects through a strategic
­alliance we entered into in 2012.
Accenture also is a resell and integration partner for our eMeter
EnergyIP product, which is where we saw their capabilities and
their dedication in bringing also our product to the market.
We recognized that there was not an overlap, but a complimentary position, which helps us to serve our customers better.”
Martin Runge on why Siemens chose Accenture as a partner
able to predict fluctuations and ener­
gy use should now be a vital part of
a company’s capital expenditure plan.
Utilities face the demand that they
no longer simply strengthen the grid,
but that they also become smarter
about it and that also entails answer­
ing business-impacting and invest­
ment-relevant questions in short
­delays.
“We want to help increase the quality
of supply for the end customer – less
complaints and less dissatisfactory
moments – as well as the service util­
ity companies can provide: with the
proper solution,” says van ­Verseveld.
Discussion and Innovation
Partner
The CEO of the new company is very
excited about OMNETRIC Group’s po­
tential: “The interest for the services
that OMNETRIC Group provides will
grow not only in Europe and the USA.
We also want to be relevant for the
Asian and Latin American markets. It
could be a few years down the line,
but that’s how we see it.”
For now, the headquarters of
­OMNETRIC Group will be in Munich,
with further European offices in
­Amsterdam and Vienna. For North
America, the joint venture company
is opening a subsidiary in Minneapo­
lis, where one of Siemens’ develop­
ment centers for grid control is lo­
cated, and in San Francisco, where
smart metering, demand response,
and virtual power plant products
from Siemens are being developed.
OMNETRIC Group will start with
­approximately 100 employees, and
there will be high entries of new
­talent in the future, Maikel van
­Verseveld and Martin Runge predict.
“We’re helping utilities to develop
new business models reshaping
parts of the industry. If we are able
to become a globally recognized
partner of our clients in five years’
time, we will have succeeded. The
goal is to be a trusted discussion and
innovation partner for utilities to
transition the market of the energy
systems,” says Maikel van ­Verseveld. p
Roman Elsener is the US correspondent for the
Swiss News Agency SDA and has produced work
for various European magazines, TV and radio
stations. He is based in New York.
Living Energy · No. 10 | May 2014 39