The rise of smart metering and smart networks is driving a requirement for greater processing power that companies are struggling to meet on-premise. Cloud ensures that companies will be able to make near-real-time decisions from customer data. Moreover, energy and utilities companies are in a unique position to collect huge amounts of consumer data, which they can then use to optimise grid operations and consumer experiences. This necessitates databases, big data analytics, and cloud service providers to bring it all together. 

With the rise of distributed energy resources, a smarter grid, and more sophisticated analytics, technologies for utility corporations continue to become increasingly advanced and complex. The cloud is the answer, as you no longer have to invest significant amounts of money to upgrade and replace legacy systems with in-house solutions.