Pinnacle announces launch of new SMART GRID Solution - April 15, 2010

As part of its strategy to establish itself at the heart of its chosen industries, Pinnacle has launched a next generation real-time data collection and delivery solution platform enabling intelligent integration of distribution operations and customer operations.

Called Sentinel, this solution will provide the next generation of real time integration solutions needed to manage and drive value from the huge investments being made in new, smart grid and customer management devices for the utility industry.

The concepts of a SMART GRID and SMART METERING aim to create a more efficient, intelligent network that requires less total energy to operate and avoids the implementation of new generation sources in favor of more efficient use of existing resources as well as integration of new types of energy production such as solar or wind power.

In utility distribution operations, the new hardware infrastructure being installed to support these Smart Grid and AMI footprints will result in millions of new, geographically dispersed devices which, in turn, will generate billions of events and transactions requiring real-time processing and synthesis. Traditional approaches to the management of these data and transactions will not support this new paradigm and thus, put the huge investments in this new infrastructure at risk as utility systems become "choked" with data and unable to effectively deliver on the promise of Smart Grid and AMI concepts.

Sentinel can address these challenges by providing the ability to deliver "business consciousness" by introducing intelligent discernment in the manner in which data and transactions are managed. These innovations are built on a proven platform for an industry that is driven by prudence and risk avoidance.

The largest roadway lighting controller manufacturer in United States has chosen to embed the Sentinel Solution in managing its Zigbee based mesh networks that uses streetlights to support Smart Grid solutions for municipal markets.

In utility customer operations, the market is driving higher levels of compliance and customer contact intelligence to understand how efficiently and effectively it executes its own business processes, while providing insight into operational shortcomings and opportunities. Sentinel (which includes state-of-theart interruptive engines) is being used to analyze customer contacts while integrating information from both customer and distribution operations in the utility company. As of writing, four utility operations in the northeastern United States have signed up for the rollout of this contact intelligence solution that is powered by the Sentinel platform

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