For instance, predicts Schmitz, utilities will begin deploying, within six months to a year, advanced decision-support systems that download large volumes of data from Oasis and sift through them for statistical patterns or variances that would be helpful in guiding smarter economic decision making. Such applications will be invaluable in assisting utilities as they transform from regional monopolies into national competitors. But as deregulation marches forward, experts anticipate more customer-oriented applications. One of the most important such customer initiatives is real-time pricing information. As the name implies, real-time pricing gives customers the information they need to switch services based on cost.
Pilots already are underway.
However, such systems won t be commonplace for a while yet. Those are ambitious plans for an industry in which some members reportedly still have trouble loading Microsoft Windows onto personal computers. But the impact of the Web on the utilities sector already is mighty, and it will only continue to grow. But the switch isalready thrown. Lynda Radosevich is a New York-based senior editor for Infoworld, an IDG sister publication to WebMaster.