As smart-grid technology ­deployment expands, the technical needs of utilities become more sophisticated. One of the potential beneficiaries of this trend is a platform that allows utilities to unify all of the vast amounts of data that they receive. Known as advanced distribution management systems (ADMS), the market for this technology appears ready to expand.


According to the Boulder, Colo.-based market research firm Navigant, worldwide sales revenue is expected to increase fivefold in the next 10 years. The firm’s study, “Advanced Distribution Management Systems,” projects revenue to grow from $681 million in 2015 to more than $3.3 billion by 2024.


Navigant cites several factors to support this bold projection. For example, it notes that utilities are becoming increasingly strategic in combined smart-grid information and operational technology deployments. It also emphasizes that the utility business is undergoing fundamental changes caused by the growth of efficiency and renewable-energy targets, growing customer demands, reliability pressure and grid-edge instability. These factors have compelled utilities to adopt what Navigant calls a holistic approach to developing smart-grid roadmaps, with an emphasis on a unified approach to traditionally separate systems.


Similarly, utilities and grid operators have been progressively increasing the number of data points and expanding telemetry and automation further along the distribution grid. Recognizing the potential for more effective grid management, ADMS vendors are promising systems with the capacity to process millions of data points for real-time and near-real-time applications.


Finally, Navigant found that, as ADMS technology is further developed and the distribution grid becomes more complex, vendors are integrating demand response and distributed-energy-­resources management into their capabilities, further enhancing the marketability of the product.