Tech giant IBM said it has acquired Bengaluru-headquartered Prescinto, a leading provider of asset performance management (APM) software-as-a-service (SaaS) for renewables. Prescinto’s capabilities leverage AI to enable advanced monitoring, analytics, and automation to streamline renewable energy operations and manage clean energy and storage assets. This is IBM’s fourth acquisition of an Indian company. IBM’s last acquisition in India was in 2016, when it bought Bengaluru-based cloud-computing company Sanovi Technologies.
The acquisition of Prescinto will enhance the capabilities of IBM Maximo Application Suite (MAS), IBM’s solution for asset lifecycle management. It will further IBM’s leadership in the energy and utility space, an industry undergoing significant transformation and seeking solutions to manage and optimise wind, solar, and other renewable energy storage assets. Water, natural gas, oil, nuclear, and other energy and utility enterprises globally already utilise IBM MAS.
Prescinto was founded in 2016 by Puneet Singh Jaggi along with Sanjay Bhasin, Ramadas C Menon, and Suresh Jangra (ex-cofounder). It works with and services global customers across 14 countries, with 16 gigawatts under management. Prescinto’s APM capabilities help organisations simplify operations and maintenance to maximise ROI. It offers capabilities including data capture—employing open-source protocols and a data governance layer.
It also offers monitoring features for centralised visualisation of assets with high-definition maps, real-time monitoring, and custom alerts. Other features include ‘analysis’, using AI to identify losses, visualise data trends, and offer actionable recommendations to increase performance.
The acquisition will further enable IBM to support clients’ sustainability initiatives and net-zero goals. This allows users to track and monitor the performance of solar, wind, and energy storage assets in near real-time, identify root causes for underperformance, and recommend actions to optimise generation.
For example, a solar power plant can become less efficient over time due to accumulated dirt and debris on its panels. Renewable APM software can use visual recognition capabilities to monitor these assets, identify issues before they become critical, and prompt necessary actions to restore optimal efficiency. This allows for real-time tracking of panel performance, streamlines required cleaning, and enables organisations to respond promptly before energy output decreases.
According to Allied Market Research, the value of the global utilities asset management market is expected to grow from $4.3 billion in 2022 to $12.4 billion in 2031, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3 per cent.
Organisations are increasingly turning to alternative energy sources like wind, solar, and energy storage to help reduce emissions and lower energy costs. Yet, it can be daunting to effectively manage and maximise the performance of high-tech devices like turbines, solar panels, and inverters, which generate power from renewable energy assets. In addition, environmental factors like weather and debris can contribute to reducing energy output, system effectiveness, and system uptime.
First Published: Oct 15 2024 | 5:33 PM IST
