Utilities / Features

Smart grids set to revolutionise energy companies - Part 3

Adding new layers for both improved communications and business-focused data analysis may add pressure to already pressured CIOs, but information executives aren’t the only ones staring down organisational change as a result of the industry’s new information-driven dynamics.

Written by David Braue04 May 11 09:33

Smart grids set to revolutionise energy companies - Part 2

Smart meters have a way to go. The recent 2010 Australian Smart Grid Study, a survey of 13 Australian utilities by sector consultancy Logica, showed an average self-reported maturity rating of just 2.14 on a scale of 1 to 5, and communications networks to support them rated 2.80.

Written by David Braue03 May 11 10:29

Smart grids set to revolutionise energy companies - Part 1

Like any entrepreneur, Andrew Dyer is excited about the possibilities for his clean-energy venture, BrightSource Energy. The company, of which he is a director, is this year partnering with energy giant Chevron to cover 1000 acres of the US desert with 4000 mirrors that reflect sunlight onto three boilers mounted atop each of three 100 metre towers.

Written by David Braue02 May 11 11:28

Special Report: The New Economics of IT

The Australian CIO Executive Council polled 121 top local IT executives and found that the current economic crisis is taking its toll on Australian IT departments. Find out more in our special report “The New Economics of IT”.

Written by A CIO Executive Council Report24 March 09 16:37

Empowered Change

Terry Paulson, the widely-acclaimed author and motivational speaker once said, "Don't struggle against change; learn to use it to your advantage." North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) did just this when it took over from the ailing Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) about four years ago. The shift is a lesson in change management - and for NDPL, it has brought down its aggregate technical & commercial (AT&C) losses from over 50 to 22 per cent.

Written by Rahul Neel Mani05 Aug. 08 08:06

How social networking saved New Orleans

If there is any doubt to the power of social media, social networking and social software, then nonbelievers may need to Think New Orleans.

Written by John Fontana30 June 08 08:08

20 Things You Can Do In 20 Minutes to Be More Successful at Work

There are things you can do in just 20 minutes that can have a meaningful and even a long term positive effect on your IT organization, your career, your technology knowledge, your management skills and your relationship with the business. We've gathered 20 of the best ideas we could find

Written by Stephanie Overby05 March 08 13:06

Imagination at work

If necessity is the mother of invention, then capitalism is surely the mother of innovation. Five of this year's CIO 100 honorees were driven to develop unique applications of undeniably cool technologies by the almighty dollar (the need to make it and to save it).

Written by Meridith Levinson17 Aug. 06 00:04

CIO warns many IT workers face dangerous stress

When it comes to testing an IT system, William Cross, the CIO of Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc. in Tampa, Fla., uses an approach that his staff describes as "brutal." But it's a system Cross hopes will avoid sleep-disturbing middle-of-the-night production failures -- part of a larger effort to keep his staff from getting stressed out.

Written by Patrick Thibodeau15 Aug. 06 22:23

7 Ways CIOs Can Introduce Web 2.0 Technologies into the Enterprise

One essential promise for Enterprise 2.0, or Web 2.0 for the enterprise, is making important information available to the people who need it, in large part by using blogs and wikis to capture and store institutional knowledge, says Dion Hinchcliffe, president and CTO of Web 2.0/Enterprise 2.0 consultancy Hinchcliffe and Company, during his session at the Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston

Written by Diann Daniel05 July 07 09:55

New Utility Reliability Standards Kick In

The era of voluntary reliability standards for electric utilities has ended, and power companies now face a set of US federally mandated rules that can cost them up to $US1 million a day in fines if they turn the lights out on their customers.

Written by Patrick Thibodeau21 June 07 15:51

Katrina Plus One: Disaster Plans Stress Communication

A year has passed, but Aug. 29, 2005, remains a fresh memory for Mississippi Power CIO Aline Ward: As Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast, Ward scrambled to keep communication lines open from a command center in the utility's Gulfport plant. Because this storm center was located several miles inland, Ward thought equipment would be safe from flooding. "We were on the second floor, but soon the water started to rise and come inside the building," recalls Ward. Working in the dark, Ward and her IT colleagues piled sandbags against the door and bailed water from the room to keep radio communications equipment up and running.

Written by Susannah Patton05 Sept. 06 23:04

Philly CIO: Troubled Water Billing System Can Work

After three years of work and $US18 million spent, Philadelphia still has not deployed a water billing system for its half-million customers and is now working with Oracle Corp. -- the major vendor behind the project -- to get it back on track.

Written by Matt Hamblen10 Aug. 06 20:06
  • Are you optimising your office costs? Video could help

    The formula for collaboration is changing rapidly.

    Jabra

    Jabra is a leader in engineering communications and sound solutions – innovating to empower both consumers and businesses. Proudly part of the GN Group, we are committed to letting people hear more, do more, and be more than they ever thought possible. Through sound and video, we help transform lives. Jabra engineering excellence leads the way, building on 150 years of pioneering work. This allows us to create integrated headsets and communications tools that help professionals work more productively; wireless headphones and earbuds that let consumers better enjoy calls, music, and media; and pioneering video conferencing solutions, enabling seamless collaboration between distributed teams.

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