Seizing the opportunities of a smart world

The business leaders of tomorrow will need to maximise the opportunities of a more interconnected smart world. From smart consumer goods to smart cities, we give organisations the ability to anticipate changing trends and develop the innovative products and services to meet the demands of a fast-changing world.

Planning the implementation of 50 million smart meters across Great Britain

In late 2009 the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) published plans to require energy suppliers to provide smart meters to all households by 2020. PA’s smart technology and energy specialists were appointed to support DECC and Ofgem (the electricity and gas regulator) to develop the detailed requirements for the implementation of this major programme, which will require meters for 27 million homes and two million business premises.

In this project, our work included developing approaches to consumer protection, the design of the meters and communications systems, and the associated data privacy and security issues. We also developed the proposals for the regulatory and commercial framework that will apply to utilities deploying smart meters.

The results of this work were published in the Smart Metering Implementation Programme Prospectus documentation that was issued for consultation by DECC and Ofgem in July 2010. PA has since supported the management of the consultation and planning process and continues to provide strategic support to ensure this highly ambitious programme is implemented successfully.

Creating a groundbreaking bill payment system in 14 months

The Australian banking industry was facing threats to its payments business from non-bank competition and pressure to minimise infrastructure costs. Seven different banks had similar challenges but were reluctant to cooperate on a unified response. In 14 months PA helped design and deliver a bill payment system from scratch. We brought the widely differing views of the banks to broad consensus and cut millions of dollars out of the infrastructure and operating costs.

The result was BPAY, a single bill payment service adopted across the banking sector. The state-of-theart system, delivered in what the banks described as an unprecedented timeframe, continues to be recognised as the global leader. It now defines consumer payments in Australia: 18 million bills worth A$11 billion are now paid each month using BPAY and over 3,000 billers and 170 financial institutions, covering about 90% of the consumer banking market, belong to the scheme.

Helping to develop smart city services for 1.5 million people

Over 50% of the world’s population now live in urban areas but many of these cities operate inefficiently due to the fragmented nature of their services and governance structures. The developers of the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia recognised the need to take a more holistic view to develop an efficient, world-leading city KAEC will occupy an area of desert the size of Washington DC, and will, in a relatively short timescale, serve more than 1.5 million people, aiming to become a template for cities across the globe. Services ranging from healthcare to transport and telecommunications will be delivered through joinedup systems and infrastructure. This approach will provide new revenues for service providers and be cost-effective.

PA’s smart technology experts showed the Economic City developer how these ambitions could be met by providing the business case and advice on implementation. We are supporting the planning to build the infrastructure for this future city.

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