Infosys and Wipro have been named among the top seven vendors in the world of smart-grid software, a recent research report of GTM Research has said. Smart grids are those that have electrical devices with embedded software that can give out a fund of data in order that the grid may be better managed. Software is a key part of smart grids.

GTM Research, a well-known greentech research company, sought to find out who the Big Fish are in each segment of smart grid software. Under the head ‘Utility systems development and integration, data analytics and cyber security', GTM has named seven companies. Infosys and Wipro are in the elite company of five other global giants – IBM, Oracle, Siemens, Accenture and Schneider Electric.

Even in this well-knit world, having two home-grown biggies is seen as an advantage because smart grid is an area that specially requires local knowledge. Several experts have commented on the uniqueness of the Indian grid and hence the uniqueness of the opportunities any revamping of it provides.

At a conference in Mumbai on smart grid, Dr Rajit Gadh, Professor at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), stressed on the “importance of determining the local nuances of the Indian market.”

Speaking to Business Line last week, Mr Anand Padmanabhan, Senior Vice-President, Energy, Natural Resources & Utilities, Wipro Technologies, noted that India is characterised by the need to manage demand rather than supply of electricity, very different from the developed countries.

Wipro and Infosys have experience of having worked abroad on smart grids and with their knowledge of India too, are well placed to serve the needs of the emerging smart grid in India. According to a report (of Zpryme) the Indian government will spend $11 billion to reduce line losses to less than 15 percent in five years in urban and high-density areas. One-fifth of those funds will be dedicated to using IT at state-run distribution companies.

IT companies have solutions such as back-end solutions, remote infrastructure maintenance, CRM, systems integrations. Wipro and Infosys also know smart grid.

India is seen as the place where smart grid could be built from the scratch, leapfrogging several technologies that emerged and expired in the last several years.

With the experience of having worked abroad, Wipro knows what needs to be done in India now so that the grid is good still ten years down the line, said Mr Padmanabhan.

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