Press Release
IDC Energy Insights Forecasts Market for Meter Data Management (MDM) to Grow
by Almost 30% to Reach $869.1 Million by 2013
New IDC Energy Insights Study Shows MDM Critical Technology for Energy Companies Implementing
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
FRAMINGHAM, MA, January 27, 2010 – The market for meter data management (MDM) is growing at a
fast pace with the introduction of smart metering, a new study published by IDC Energy Insights reveals.
IDC Energy Insights forecasts the North American market to grow at a CAGR of 29.4% from $239.9
million in 2008 to $869.1 million in 2013.
According to IDC Energy Insights’ new study, Vendor Assessment: Industry Short List for Meter Data
Management – Getting to Scale(Document # EI221319), smart metering is delivering exponentially
greater volumes of data that can be used to support a whole range of offerings to customers. At the same
time, this wealth of data can be mined for operational and business intelligence. MDM is a must-have
technology for energy companies implementing advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).
IDC Energy Insights' research shows that currently, large utilities make up over 80% of the market for
MDM in North America. The average deal size for a small utility is from $150,000 to $250,000, while
larger utilities can have MDM contracts of $2 million to $4 million.
"The new energy economy is driving utilities to adopt new ways of serving their customers," said Jill
Feblowitz, practice director of IDC Energy Insights. "The introduction of new technology, such as
AMI/smart metering, is also changing the way companies interact with their customers."
This report uses IDC Energy Insights' Short List methodology to evaluate the vendors supplying MDM
applications to the utility market. This analysis is intended to help energy executives arrive at a short list
of IT suppliers that best address the needs of the business. Vendors evaluated for this study include
Aclara, Ecologic Analytics, eMeter, Hansen Technologies, Itron, and Oracle.
"Companies are just beginning to test the scale of large implementations, as smart metering goes
system-wide," continued Feblowitz. "Our research shows that scalability is the most important criteria for
assessing the MDM. Utilities want to be confident that when they scale up from pilot to system-wide
implementation of smart metering, the MDM will be able to handle increased volumes of meter data and
process it quickly."
Among the key findings of this study are the following:

Vendor offerings of MDM have proven capable of uploading and cleaning large volumes of data
from system-wide implementation of AMI. The jury is still out on how well the MDM can perform in
supporting large-scale billing of time-based or other exotic rates.

There are almost as many possible variations of data delivery as there are meter configurations
and customer information systems (CISs). The amount of work performed by MDM and capacity
required will depend on the rest of the smart metering technology stack – configurable meters,
network bandwidth, and CIS capabilities. Utilities should select the MDM within the context of the
stack.
The introduction of AMI provides a means to collect an unprecedented amount of data. IDC Energy
Insights' research shows that smart meters can now collect and deliver interval data for the mass-market
customer. Most systems are capable of capturing and transporting very small intervals – some systems
report capabilities of collecting one-minute interval data. This data can be used to support applications
such as traditional billing, time-of-use (TOU) billing, market transactions for deregulation markets,
presentation of data to the customer for energy education, and outage detection and restoration analysis.
For additional information about this study, or to arrange a one-on-one briefing with an IDC Energy
Insights analyst, please contact Sarah Murray at 781-794-3214 or sarahbethmurray@gmail.com. Reports
are available to qualified members of the media; reporters should email sarahbethmurray@gmail.com.
For information on purchasing reports, email info@idc-ei.com.
About IDC Energy Insights
IDC Energy Insights provides research-based advisory and consulting services focused on market and
technology developments in the energy and utility industries. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of
industry experience, IDC Energy Insights covers both the utility and oil & gas segments, providing
independent, timely, and relevant analysis focused on key business and technology issues. IDC Energy
Insights serves a diverse and growing global client base, including electric, gas and water utilities, IT
suppliers, independent power producers, retail energy providers, oil and gas companies, equipment
manufacturers, government agencies, financial institutions, and professional services firms. IDC is the
premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information
technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology, media, research, and
events company. For more information, please visit http://www.idc-ei.com/ or email info@idc-ei.com.