Itron, OSIsoft to Advance Real-time Analytics for Water Utilities

Itron Inc. will collaborate with OSIsoft LLC to expand the value of analytics for water utilities to improve insights and decisions. The companies are working together to enable data sharing between their solutions by integrating OSIsoft’s PI System, a real-time infrastructure for streaming data and events, with Itron Analytics, an analytics application providing business intelligence. The integration is designed to enable water utilities to analyze performance of the distribution network in real-time. Integration work is expected to be complete by the end of 2014.

Itron Analytics harnesses the value of data generated by utility smart distribution investments, and OSIsoft’s PI System collects data from more than 400 disparate data systems and sources, including SCADA and other operational systems. The integration will enable utilities to take data collected from multiple sources that are not traditionally tied together and analyze it within Itron Analytics to create actionable information. This will give utilities greater visibility into their systems in real-time to detect trends, respond to events more rapidly and optimize operations of their systems. For example, utilities can integrate data from Itron’s advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) solution with bulk water meter consumption data stored in the PI System, improving district metering calculations.

With this integration, utilities can better maintain existing assets, make the best use of current infrastructure and plan for system upgrades that maximize their return on investment. In addition, Itron customers can store consumption data from Itron’s AMI solution within the PI System, allowing them to distribute data across the enterprise and make process improvements across utility departments.

“Itron is excited to expand our relationship with OSIsoft and enhance the value of Itron Analytics. With this collaboration, our customers will benefit from access to more data than ever before, so they can better manage their systems and improve operational performance,” said Paula Billingham, vice president of sales, marketing and delivery for Water North America at Itron.

“With smarter connected machines and equipment, there is a huge volume of streaming data available for decision making.  Combining the PI System and Itron Analytics will enable utility companies to take full advantage of their data and infrastructure investments to improve distribution efficiency,” said Tim Johnson, director, Partners and Strategic Alliances at OSIsoft.

Source: Itron Inc.