Yogi Berra's famous quote 'It's like deja vu all over again' is one of my favorites and as an industry analyst, I think of this quote often. Being a third party observer of market dynamics and people dynamics, I have noticed when there is an intersection between two major technology / business areas, there is often a cultural difference that is often overlooked and can lead to misunderstandings and impede meaningful progress.

One example that comes to mind is when the computing and communications world collided and merged. In the late 1990s, it was the 'Bellheads' from the telco side versus the 'Netheads' from the IT side. The Bellhead's world view was very conservative: make sure the network was rock solid, they thought about ensuring the 99.999 percent uptime was preserved, services could be managed, provisioned and billed, and that no changes would be introduced without rigorous and lengthy testing. Needless to say, new features and services were introduced at a glacial pace. The Netheads, while not insensitive to reliability and manageability, considered adding features, functions and services to be paramount. To be fair, these are sweeping generalizations and do not speak to any individual but to group dynamics instead. I bring this cultural difference not to be critical, but to be instructive to the smart grid space.

I have noticed a similar dynamic in smart grid. This time it is the Netheads versus the power generation / transmission people. Netheads (which includes me) see the world through a network / software filter that revolves around Internet connectivity and all the technologies and standards it encompasses. We think about databases, cloud computing, networking protocols and standards, and are concerned with issues like the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 or how broadband build out will be a factor in smart grid deployment.

The utilities camp approaches smart grid from a different angle. They are responsible for providing reliable and safe power, 100 percent legacy equipment, 100 years of business practices, regulations to abide and customer service desks. Therefore, making changes as significant as smart grid means something very different because they worry about making sure that implementing changes does not bring the system to its knees.

Then there are language differences. When power generation people say ISO they mean independent system operator and not the international standards organization, and IPP refers to independent power producer not the IP printing protocol or Internet Payment Platform. I can imagine a conversation between the different camps. Nethead: 'How long do you think it will be before you have convert to IPv6?' Reddy Kilowatt: 'What the heck is IPv6 and what does it mean for my business?'

The reason I bring this to the attention of the smart grid community is that I observed the impacts of the cultural divide on the advancement of a new industry. This incomplete understanding of significant areas and requirements can slow down development of workable solutions and the advancement of the industry as a whole. As a case in point, I remember pitching the cost, flexibility and feature benefits of VoIP solutions to prospects whose main concern was reliability, voice quality and management. My company was not alone - it seemed the entire VoIP industry was enamored with the bells and whistles while the customers were worried about keeping it running. Had we, and the rest of the industry, been listening more acutely, we would have put those concerns higher up in our product roadmap and significantly accelerated market acceptance. If more telcos played a more active part in the designing of IP-based communications solutions, they would likely be further along in providing the IP based services that customers want.

When I see articles on the importance off IPv6, SIP, fiber, routers and other networking technologies to the Smart Grid, I wonder if the utility camp really cares that much: I suspect that they see these as technical network issues that they assume will get solved at some point. At the same time, I wonder if the utility people had a deeper understanding of networking technologies, that they would be a better partner in developing killer apps / solutions.

History has shown that it is imperative for both camps to educate themselves on the other's industry and issues. Better understanding of each other's world will speed up the delivery of relevant solutions and reaching the overarching goal of a more efficient power grid that will reduce emissions while maintaining its reliability and integrity.

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Edited by Michael Dinan