Towards a Connected and Intelligent Energy Future: Key Moments from DistribuTECH International 2024
As the curtains closed on DistribuTech International 2024, the event left us with pivotal moments in the energy, emobility, sustainability landscape. Navigating through invigorating conversations, we had the opportunity to exchange notes with leaders and shed light on the importance of connected energy experiences!
The industry transformation has been on the rise – not just technological transformation but also in evolving consumer expectations, dynamism in the utility industry, and rapidly increasing sustainability concerns. This necessitates bringing all the opportunities together to drive large-scale transformation with unified solutions.
At SEW, our philosophy is built on ‘People + AI.’ Here’s what it means: Empowering people by leveraging our unified and AI-powered connected platforms – SmartCX, SmartWX, SmartIX, and SmarteMobility - as we navigate the energy transition.
By unified, we mean a connected experience across the energy value chain, for customers, workforce, utilities, and businesses, leveraging AI/ML Analytics – for smooth operations, responsible energy consumption, intelligent energy management, DER integrations, modern gird and sustainable transportation (eMobility).
In case you missed seeing us at the event, here is a quick recap of our experience and learnings – much thanks to our clients, partners, and everyone else we connected with at the event!
WHAT MADE THE SEW HEADLINES AT DISTRIBUTECH 2024?
Technological Integration and AI to drive ENERGY TRANSFORMATION!
Incorporating advanced technologies into utility operations and customer experience has become vital. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are proving to be critical in creating a connected and end-to-end energy transformation experience.
For instance, our analytics platform Smart IX (Intelligence Experience) can extract energy consumption behavior, help utilities identify usage patterns, and optimize energy planning and distribution. Additionally, AI/ML enables a connected experience – establishing seamless transfer of data and insights between multiple platforms – making them intelligent and intuitive.
Driving Intelligent CUSTOMER EMPOWERMENT
As the world evolves with technological advancements, customer expectations are simultaneously evolving. It has become essential for utilities and businesses to keep an eye on these evolving expectations and meet them head-on! This is one of the most common concerns in the utility sector and was addressed at DistribuTECH this year.
The focus is on empowering energy customers through advanced technologies and modern platforms. AI-powered customer experience platforms such as Smart CX eliminate such concerns, from providing energy usage transparency to facilitating appliance-level usage disaggregation, helping knit a close bond between customers and utilities- across segments.
Field Workforce-led CONNECTED EXPERIENCES!
Another agenda on the menu at DistribuTECH 2024 was to look at digital empowerment from the lens of the utility workforce. One facet of the customer experience stems from enhanced field workforce experience – establishing real-time connectivity between the customers and the field workforce.
Platforms for workforce experience enable real-time collaboration between the field workforce, the back-office teams, and the customers, promoting transparency and streamlining service delivery. Incorporating field service automation, predictive asset management, and grid maintenance, along with AI-powered tools, such as Smart Wearables, to assist field workers, intuitive dashboards, and analytics for data-based decision-making in real-time. Ultimately, these innovations reduce response time for issue resolution, build service resilience, and enhance customer experience.
Next-generation eMobility and ENERGY EXPERIENCE
eMobility adoption and modern energy experience took the spotlight at DistribuTECH 2024. Electric Vehicles (EVs) are the future of transportation, but for a successful transition and to establish a seamless EV ecosystem, it requires grid resilience, energy distribution management, distributed energy systems, and, of course, EV infrastructure, including chargers, stations, and software to manage it all!
EV-connected platforms are proving to be vital in this eMobility transition – right from establishing and providing EV hardware solutions (charging stations, connectors, and more) to AI-powered software for managing electric vehicles, facilitating easy charging, and enabling technologies such as EVs as a DER, Vehicle to Grid, Homes, and more! These connected platforms enable seamless integration of electric vehicles into the grid, optimizing charging efficiency and ensuring robust grid planning. They provide a TRUE EMOBILITY AND ENERGY EXPERIENCE!
And MOST IMPORTANTLY – LEARNING FROM THE EXPERTS
As we traversed through the event, DistribuTECH provided a valuable opportunity to learn from industry experts at the forefront of smart grid innovations. Emphasizing AI-powered, data-centric platforms enabling grid resilience – from managing distributed energy resources (DERs) to energy storage systems (ESS) to electric vehicles (EVs).
Through insights and real-world examples showcasing successful implementations and best practices, attendees gained valuable knowledge and perspectives on navigating the complexities of grid modernization!
Much like our connected platforms, our commitment to facilitating knowledge-sharing and ever-growing collaboration among industry leaders will continue to harness innovation and sustainability! We believe DistribuTECH was a huge success for us and all the participants. Setting the tone for 2024 and beyond, we are all geared up for the future – to work and inspire billions of people to build a better future, leveraging the power of PEOPLE +AI!
